Mistakes
by bandgeek18
Summary: In a moment of anger Jayden does something he regrets to a member of the team. Now everyone had lost their respect for him. He has to find a way to make everyone see his is truly sorry, but how can he get the samurai he hurt to forgive him if that person is scared to be near him?
1. A Mistake

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter One: A Mistake

A/N: hey guys. Heres a new fanfic for ya. Please review and let know what you think.

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have any idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

"Antonio!" Jayden shouted angrily.

"Uh-oh," Mike said. "He's pissed."

Antonio came into the living room. "What's up?"

"I'm going to ask you once, and only once," Jayden said through clenched teeth. "Can I have my knife back?"

"What?"

"My tanto knife my dad gave me. It was in my room a few hours ago, and your the only person whose been in there. I know because I told you to go in there because Mike hid your fishing line."

Mike laughed, "I did do that."

"Yeah, I got my line back," Antonio said. "But I never touched your knife."

"Liar!"

"I'm not lying! I really didn't take it!"

"Then how do you explain it going missing? You're were the last one in there and I checked everywhere."

"We'll then I don't know what to tell you."

"How about, 'gee Jayden, I'm sorry I violated your trust and took something that was precious to you.'"

"But I didn't take it. Why would I?"

"I don't know. You tell me thief."

"I'm not a thief!"

"Look." Jayden said getting in Antonio's face. "I don't care why you took it, I just want it back. It means a lot to me."

"I didn't take it though." By now their argument had brought Kevin, Mia, and Emily the living room.

"Fine. I'll search your room then."

"You can't do that! You have no proof that I took it."

"You were the last one in there."

"That still doesn't mean I took it." Jayden turned away from him. Antonio grabbed his wrist. Several things happened at once. Antonio didn't have time to react. He felt something smash into the side of his face. He released Jayden's wrist and stumbled to the side. He fell to the ground, smacking his head off a table. A vase on the table fell over and hit him on the head, shattering into a million pieces. He cried out in pain. He touched his fingers to his temple and felt sticky blood. He looked up at Jayden who was standing over him, fists clenched in anger.

Jayden wasn't sure what happened. One minute he was yelling in Antonio's face, then he turned around to go search the gold ranger's room. He felt Antonio grab his wrist. He wasn't sure why, but it made him even more angry. Before he could think he spun around, punching Antonio in the side of the head.

The gold ranger stumbled to the ground and hit his head off a table, then a vase fell on his head. He looked up at Jayden who was standing with his fists clenched. Jayden saw the look of shock and horror on his face. He took a step forward, and Antonio raised one of his hands in front of him protectively. Jayden saw a new emotion spread across his face...fear.

He stared at Jayden in terror. The fear in his best friend's dark eyes snapped him out of his craze. He blinked then looked down at Antonio. His stomach plummeted. "Oh god..."

"Antonio!" Emily shouted running forward to help him. "Are you ok?"

Ji and Lauren came in. "What happened?!" Ji asked when he saw Antonio.

"Jayden punched Antonio and caused him to hit the table," Kevin said.

"Jayden is that true?"

"Yes," Jayden said.

"Why did you punch him?"

"Because I was mad at him."

"You took your anger out on him?"

"No," Mike said. "He accused Antonio of stealing something from him."

"You accused him? Did you have any proof?"

"Not really," Jayden said thinking over what had just happened.

"Did you ask him if he took it? Or did you just assume?"

"I...I guess I assumed."

"What exactly did you think he took?"

"The knife dad gave me."

Ji paused for a moment. "Regardless you shouldn't have done it. Honestly Jayden, I'd expect more responsible behavior from you."

"Yes, Mentor," Jayden said flinching. He looked at Antonio. He took a step toward him and held out his hand. "Let me help you."

Antonio shook his head and crawled backwards away from him. Ji walked over and helped him up. "I think you've done enough. Come on Antonio, lets get you cleaned up." He led Antonio out of the room. He stopped and looked back at Jayden. "I'm not finished with you, understand?"

"Yes," Jayden said. Ji led Antonio away. Lauren strode in and smacked Jayden upside the head. "Ow! What's was that for?"

"For hurting my boyfriend, and wrongfully accusing him. I took the knife."

"What? Why?"

"BecauseI wanted to compare it to the one dad gave me. Next time just ask around before accusing someone, baka!"

Jayden sighed. Kevin and Mike shook their heads at him before leaving. Emily and Mia began picking up the pieces of glass. "Let me help you."

"We got it," Mia said icily.

Jayden was taken a back. Lauren shook her head and left to check on Antonio. Jayden sighed. _What have I done?_

Antonio flinched as Ji took another small piece of glass out of his head. "Sorry," Ji said. "Don't worry. I think we're almost done." He pulled out the remaining pieces, them started to look at the cut. "This is pretty deep."

"We'll I didn't exactly have a chance to defend myself."

"I know," Ji said. "This is going to require a few stitches." He got the supplies out. "Rest assure, Jayden will be punished. He had no right to do this."

"I know," Antonio said as Ji began to stitch up his head. He flinched. Lauren came in.

"How are you?"

"Hurting."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." She looked at him where he had been hit. "That's going to swell."

"I know."

"Hope Jayden gets a good look at you, because I wanted to stab his eyes out."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Everyone's pretty ticked off with him."

Antonio thought back to when Jayden had hit him. He remembered Jayden standing over him, looking like he was going to hit again. He remembered the feeling of being trapped wash over him, accompanied by fear that he was going to be hit again. He didn't know why, but when Jayden stood over him like that, he suddenly flashed back to when kids who were bigger than him used to surround him and beat him up.

Whenever they knocked him to the ground they would stand over him, sneering at him. Calling him weak and a coward. _That's stupid. Jayden's nothing like those kids. They did it to make me feel inferior._ But when Jayden punched Antonio, that was exactly how he felt. Weak and inferior.

Later that day Jayden sat in his room. He had retreated there after his icy response from Mia. He heard his door open and looked up. Kevin came in and tossed Jayden's knife onto the bed. "Lauren told me to give this to you." The blue ranger's voice was detatched, like he was trying not to show Jayden any emotion.

Kevin turned to leave. "Wait," Jayden said. Kevin stopped in the doorway. "Is...is he alright? Is Antonio ok?"

"I don't know. Lauren said he's in his room," Kevin replied without turning around.

"I didn't mean to do it. You guys know that right? It was an accident."

"No. It was a loss of control. You shouldn't have hit him just because you were mad. Samurai don't do that." With that he left and shut the door behind him, leaving Jayden alone with his guilty thoughts.


	2. Punishment

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Two: Punishment

A/N: Hey guys! So here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it. Thanks for all the reviews. They were amazing!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Jayden was sitting in his room a few hours later. He was stewing in his own pity. He didn't know what to do. Everyone was mad at him. His door opened. He looked up. Mike stuck his head in. "Ji wants to talk to you in the living room."

Jayden nodded. "I'm coming." Mike disappeared. Jayden got up with dread and exited his room. He paused outside his door. Antonio's room was across the hall from his. He went to the living room. He wasn't sure how he felt when he saw Ji was the only person in there. It was good he wasn't being lectured in front of the others, but if Ji was so mad he called Jayden alone, then he was really in for it.

"Sit down," Ji said. Jayden sat down, looking at his hands. Ji began pacing. He didn't say anything for a minute. This made Jayden more nervous. He knew from his childhood that Ji was most mad when he had to think about what to say before he said it. "Jayden..." he began. "I...I really don't know what to tell you. I don't know what to do."

Jayden didn't say anything. "You never done something like this. I understand it was an accident, and that you only did it out of anger. However, you punched another member of this team. You caused Antonio pain, and you caused him to cut his head open. Accident or not this kind of thing should never happen."

"Yes Mentor," Jayden said, still looking at his hands.

"The thing that shocks me the most though, is that your reaction to being angry was to hurt someone. That you thought in that moment if you caused Antonio pain, you would feel better." Jayden flinched at the words, even if they were true...well almost. He hadn't thought hurting Antonio would help him. He hadn't been thinking. That was the point. "I thought," Ji continued. "I taught you better than that." Jayden flinched again.

"You've shown me that you're irresponsible, for accusing Antonio without proof, instead of just asking him and taking his word for it. Obviously his word means very little to you, even though he's been nothing but honest and loyal to you. You're unstable, for raising your hand to Antonio, even if it was without thinking. So that brings me back to the original dilemma. What am I going to do with you? Well?"

Jayden swallowed. "I...I don't know."

"First, you are going to apologize to Antonio. Then, you find some way to make this up to him. Understand?"

"Yes, Mentor," Jayden said, knowing full well he deserved it.

"Samurai don't hurt people. They protect people. You don't lash out at others physically. I don't think you understand that. So, in addition to your punishment, you are relieved of samurai duties." Jayden looked up at him shocked. "You will give me your morpher. I will give it back when I think you are ready." He stopped pacing and looked at Jayden. "Do you think that's unfair?" Jayden thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Ok then."

Ji held out his hand. "Your samuraizer." Jayden took his morpher out of his pocket and placed it in Ji's hand. "Good. You can go now." Jayden nodded and left. Feeling miserable, but also feeling that he had deserved a lot worse.

Mike had been listening to Ji lecture Jayden. He was shocked when the samurai mentor had taken the red ranger's samuraizer. He heard Ji dismiss Jayden, and quickly hurried to Lauren's room. Antonio was in there with Lauren, his head in her lap laying on her bed. Emily and Mia sat on the foot of the bed, Kevin stood leaning against the wall.

Lauren looked up as Mike came in, shutting the door quietly behind him. "What happened?"

"Well, he got the lecture of the century. Ji really bit into him."

"Good," Emily said.

"For a punishment, Ji took his morpher."

Clearly this wasn't what they expected. Shock rippled through the room, even Antonio lifted his head up. "Seriously?" Kevin asked.

Mike nodded.

"Anything else?" Mia asked.

"He has to make this up to Antonio."

"Seriously?" Antonio asked weakly. "Trying to make this up to me is a punishment?"

"Ji means well," Lauren said soothingly, seeing Antonio was becoming upset.

"So Jayden's going to be following me around all the time?" Antonio asked fearfully.

"Antonio," Lauren said as he sat up. She rubbed his arms. "Everything is going to fine. Ji wouldn't put you in danger."

"And? No one thought Jayden would do this the first time. What if...what if he gets mad at me again. What if he hits me again?"

"Dude," Mike said. "It's ok. If it helps, we won't let you be alone in a room with him."

"I don't want Jayden to make this up to me," Antonio said getting up. His vision spun and he stumbled. Kevin moved to catch him. He helped Antonio straighten. "I just want him to leave me alone," he said desperately leaving Lauren's room. He walked down the hall and stopped at the corner. He peeked around it and saw Jayden stop outside his room. He put his head on the door, then banged it a couple times. He turned his head to the side and spotted Antonio peeking around the corner.

"Antonio," he said. The gold ranger retreated and sat with his back against the wall, curled into an inconspicuous ball. Jayden came around the corner and saw him. "What are you..."

"S...st...stay away from me...Jayden," Antonio said, his voice shaking.

Jayden blinked. Antonio looked at him in fear. He reached out. "I'm not..."

"Don't touch me!" Antonio shouted.

"Antonio I..."

"Get away from me!" By this time the others had come out into the hall. Kevin saw what was happening and quickly got to Antonio. Mike and Lauren on his heels. Emily and Mia behind them.

Kevin stood between Antonio and Jayden. "Step back," he told Jayden. Jayden complied. Kevin continued to stand between them. Antonio got up. Lauren touched his arm gently.

"Are you ok?"

"Y...yeah. Just...just keep him away from me," Antonio said. He hurried away to his room, shutting the door behind him. Kevin moved away from Jayden.

"You need to stay away from him," the blue ranger said.

"I just wanted..."

"You need to give him space," Mike said. "You did just beat him up."

_Is anyone going to let me finish?_ Jayden wondered. "I just wanted to apologize."

"Well, you need to leave him alone for now," Lauren said. With that she went back to her room, Kevin and Mike left, as did Mia and Emily. Jayden sighed and went to his room. He paused for a moment, hand on the doorknob, debating going to Antonio, but decided against it.

Please review! They encourage me a lot.


	3. Fear

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Three: Fear

A/N:thank you to everyone who reviewed! They're so awesome! Here's the next chapter!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

When Antonio got up the next morning he was hesitant to look in the mirror. He stood in the bathroom staring at his reflection. He gently touched a couple fingers to the swollen side if his face. Purple and blue bruises traveled from right next to his eye, all the way down to the top of his jaw bone. He winced at the slight touch. His face as still a little sore from Jayden hitting him.

He splashed some water on his face. He had to go eat breakfast. Part of him didn't want to, knowing that Jayden would be there. Ever since yesterday thinking about the red ranger had caused Antonio's stomach to tighten in fear. Part of his brain argued it was irrational. Jayden would never hurt him... And then there was the part if his brain telling him to look at his face.

Reluctantly, he left the bathroom and headed to the living room. He stopped just inside the door. The others, except for Lauren, were already there. Jayden's eyes widened to the point of saucers when he saw Antonio's face. Antonio stared at Jayden. It was the first time he'd really seen him since... He gulped, clenching and un-clenching his fist.

"Dude," Mike said. "Come eat." Antonio walked in slowly, taking the seat farthest from Jayden. He kept his head down the whole time.

Lauren came in. She ruffled Antonio's hair as she walked by. She sat down in the only available seat, the one next to Jayden. Everything was quiet. It made Emily uneasy. Normally Antonio would be laughing and talking with Jayden, but not today. The gold ranger just ate his food, staring at the table. Not looking at anybody.

As they finished a very silent, and uncomfortable meal, the rangers went to go get ready for training. Antonio stayed where he was. He glanced up and nearly fell out of his seat when he saw Jayden was still there. "Uh..." He said, glancing around. He was alone. If he made Jayden mad again no one would be able to help him. "What...aren't you getting ready for practice?"

Jayden shook his head. "Ji doesn't want me near anything that could do a lot of damage to someone for a couple days."

"Oh...ok." Antonio was about to get up when Jayden did. He took a step towards Antonio. The gold ranger slid back, falling off his seat. The back of his already concussed head hit the floor. He cried out in pain. Jayden's face contracted in fear and worry.

"Are you ok?" He asked. He reached to help Antonio up. The gold ranger shook his head lifted his hands in front of his face. Jayden stopped. He saw a look of pure terror in his best friend's eyes. It made him sad and guilty. He had a feeling of pure guilt to the point that he began to feel sick. "Listen," he said. He slowly reached down and grabbed Antonio's arm. The gold ranger began to throw him off. "Antonio stop."

"Let go of me. Let go!"

"Antonio," Jayden said. He tried to restrain the gold ranger. "Antonio. Stop moving. Antonio stop!" He pulled the gold ranger's arm down. Antonio cried out in pain. He jerked his arm again, but Jayden's grip on him had become to tight. "Antonio. Stop!" Jayden shouted.

"Jayden!" Ji shouted form the door. He hurried over as Jayden released Antonio's arm. The gold ranger rubbed it. Ji took it gently and turned it over. Jayden was shocked to see small, finger shaped bruises on his best friend's arm. Ji looked at Jayden. "What happened?"

"I...I was just trying to talk to him! He...he started to freak out. I didn't want to hurt him...and I didn't want him to..."

"So you grabbed him?" Before Jayden could answer Ji turned to Antonio. He let go of his arm. Antonio ran from the living room. He ran into Kevin, dressed in his training clothes, in the hall. They collided and fell on the ground.

"Wow," Kevin said getting up. "Where's the fire?" He grabbed Antonio's arm and pulled him to his feet. When he did this all Antonio could see was Jayden yelling at him, looking like he was about to hit him again. Antonio pulled away from him and ran into his room. He was so upset he didn't see Lauren as she dodged to the side and pressed herself against the wall as he passed. He ran into his room and slammed the door shut.

He stood with his back against it, heart pounding in his chest. He took a calming breath and slid down to the floor. He put his forehead on his knees. Distantly he heard Kevin yelling something. Someone came down the hall and knocked softly on his door. "Antonio," Lauren said, her voice laced with concern. "Are you ok?"

He didn't answer. He stayed where he was, arms wrapped around his legs, hugging them to his chest. He heard Lauren's footsteps fade away. A couple seconds later he heard her shouting something at someone. Everything was quiet for a few minutes. He sighed. He didn't know why Jayden had grabbed him, but he really didn't want to.

_What happened to Jayden? He used to be my best friend. He's quickly becoming a monster that lashes out at me._

Antonio was 11 years old. He walked down the hall after-school. He looked at the ground as he walked. Someone came up behind him, grabbing his arm. They slammed him into the wall. He dropped his bag in surprise. He glared at the boy pinning him to the wall. "Hello, Garcia."

"Let me go Ryan!"

"Why?" the older boy sneered. "Are you scared?"

"No," Antonio said, making a point to hide his fear. He tried to kick Ryan, who jumped to the side. Antonio's foot just barely grazed his leg. He grabbed Antonio by the throat and threw him on the ground.

When Antonio was finally able to calm down he went and sat on his bed. He grabbed his sketchbook and stared drawing symbols, trying to give his mind something to do. He wasn't allowed to fight for a couple of days due to the stitches and concussion. He sat cross legged sketching symbols for a while. After a few minutes he noticed his hand was shaking. He set his pencil down and stared absentmindedly at the symbols on the page.

He threw the book across the room. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "I'm being stupid," he said to himself. "This is stupid. It was an accident. Jayden would never hurt me." He repeated the last sentence several times. He touched his face. _I don't know if I can trust him. He's already hurt me once, and then earlier..._

"Why would he do it? It's not like him." Antonio tried telling himself that it would be ok, but every time he was near Jayden he felt that fear. Fear that Jayden hit him again. Fear that he would turn into an unrecognizable person. Fear that Jayden thought Antonio was weak and inferior.

"I'm not weak," he mumbled. "I'm not weak."

A few hours later there was a knock at his door. He sat up from lying on the floor. Lauren came in. "Hey," she said. "How you doing?"

_Horrible. Awful._ "Fine," he lied.

Lauren sat down next to him on the floor. She ran her fingers through his hair. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He just...grabbed me. It really hurt."

"I'm sorry. I promise we won't leave you alone with him anymore."

He leaned his head on her shoulder. She smiled and rubbed his back. "I'm scared," he confessed.

"Of Jayden?"

"Yeah," he said nodding. "I'm scared that he'll hurt me. I mean, it's not like in practice or a battle. When we do that I expect to get hit, but the rest if the time... I just want to know I won't provoke him into doing this."

"It'll be ok," Lauren said comfortingly.

_I really hope so._

Please review! Please!


	4. Guilt

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Four: Guilt

A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! Hope you like it! Thank you so much for all the reviews! Please keep them coming, pretty please!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

After Antonio left, Ji rounded on Jayden. "Jayden," he sighed. "I have nothing more to say to you...except that I'm disappointed. Extremely disappointed. I thought you knew better than this. Why you've decided to hurt Antonio, I'll never know. Whatever is going on between you two, you need to figure it out."

Kevin came into the living room. "Hey, does anyone know why Antonio is running down the hall looking like he's being chased by nighlocks?"

Ji looked at Jayden. The red ranger rubbed his arm. "I may have...accidentally," he said emphasizing the word. "Grabbed his arm too hard and gave him more bruises."

Kevin stared at him for a minute. "What? Why would you do that?"

"I didn't mean to," Jayden protested. "It was an..."

"Yeah. I know. It was an accident. A lot of accidents seem to happen to him around you lately."

Jayden flinched. "Look I didn't mean..."

"That's not the point," Kevin said. "You've repeatedly abused him the past two days. He's terrified of you. But that's what you wanted, isn't it?. For him to be terrified to look you in the eyes so he's easier to control?"

"No!" Jayden said. "I would never want anything like that."

"Then why else are you treating him like this?"

Lauren came in, and Jayden could tell by the look on her face, she'd heard everything Kevin had said. "What did you do this time?"

Before Jayden could open his mouth Kevin said, "He grabbed Antonio's arm, knowing full well that Antonio is terrified of him, and gave him more bruises."

Lauren shook her head. She disappeared for a few minutes. When she came back, Jayden thought she was going to kill him. "You, my brother, are the world's biggest idiot."

"How..."

"Why you would even attempt to reason with him when you know he's terrified of you is beyond me."

"I just thought..."

"Obviously you weren't thinking. Kevin's right. You must want him to be terrified of you. It's the only explanation"

Jayden decided to stop talking. It was obvious they wouldn't listen to anything he said.

"You two," Ji said to Kevin and Lauren, "go to practice. You," he said looking at Jayden sharply. "Go to your room. I'll deal with you later." Jayden nodded and walked to his room. He didn't want Antonio to be terrified of him. He didn't want his friend to walk around scared to look at him. This was all messed up. He flopped down on his bed. He wished he could give himself a bruise.

_Someone needs to throw me down a well_. He sat up and looked at his hands. He clenched and unclenched his fists. _How can I do stuff like this? How can I hurt my friend like this?_ He felt his guilt rise and fill him up. He felt like he was going to be sick.

He stayed in his room throughout the day. He only came out once to eat lunch. He could tell Lauren and Kevin had told the others what happened because Mike was giving him dirty looks, while Emily and Mia completely ignored him.

"Lauren," Ji said. "Will you go get Antonio?"

She nodded and left. Jayden tried to concentrate on his food, but he wasn't all that hungry. Lauren returned and sat down. "He's not coming."

"Why?" Mike asked.

"He says he'll only leave his room if Jayden is in his."

Jayden felt his throat get smaller. He stared at his plate, but he could feel the other rangers glaring at him in anger.

When he finished eating he was ordered back to his room by Ji. _Is this what it feels like to be grounded?_ he wondered when he got there. He heard a door open and knew Antonio was going to eat. He sighed. The gold ranger was never going to trust him again. Ever. _I really blew it this time._ He sat on the floor and wondered if he could get someone to punch him. It probably wouldn't be that hard. Lauren would certainly do it, but she had control and would gladly point out Jayden was trying to solve his problems with fists.

Jayden wondered if Ji was going to punish him more. He'd already lost his morpher, the respect of his friends, and his best friend. He was pretty sure it could not get any worse than it was now.

Someone knocked on the door and Mike poked his head in. "It's dinner time." Jayden nodded and he left. The red ranger got up and went to go eat. As he sat down he noticed his friends were still giving him the silent treatment. He heard Lauren walking down the hall talking to someone. Jayden looked up as she came in and was shocked to see Antonio behind her. The gold ranger looked at the ground as he walked. He sat down next to Lauren cautiously, never looking at anyone.

As they ate the other samurai, besides Jayden, made an attempt to talk to Antonio. "What did you do all day?" Kevin asked.

"Practice symbols," Antonio muttered.

"By yourself?" Mia asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, of you need help one of us will give you a hand," Kevin said.

Antonio nodded. Jayden knew what he was thinking. He was usually the one who helped Antonio practice symbols, since they weren't exactly his strong suit.

"What else did you do?" Emily asked.

"Sat with Lauren for a little while," he answered.

"Aww," Mia said. Antonio smiled small smile. Jayden felt his spirits lift slightly. Seeing his friend happy, even if for just a moment made him happier.

"So basically," Mike said, "You spent the whole day training, with symbols, and sitting with your girlfriend. You need more hobbies."

Antonio smiled again, he looked up at Mike, then his smiled suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a look of fear, and he quickly looked at the table again. Mike was confused as to what just happened. He looked around and realized that he was sitting next to Jayden. He gave the red ranger a look of contempt and went back to eating. Jayden ate slower, his apatite decreasing little by little.

The other rangers did their best to try and engage Antonio in conversation, but he mostly just nodded, or gave them yes and no answers. Lauren kept the talking away from Jayden as best she could. She didn't want to upset Antonio anymore than he already was.

After dinner Jayden helped with the dishes. He washed them and Kevin was the one stuck drying them. The blue ranger never said a word the entire time. He focused on what he was doing, trying to avoid looking at Jayden.

"You know," Jayden said after an uncomfortable ten minutes, "you can't give me the silent treatment forever." Kevin put a plate away. "Look, I get you guys are mad at me. I'm mad at me. I feel bad enough about what happened without you guys making it worse. I feel awful about it. You have to believe me I do."

Kevin sighed and slammed a cup down. "It's not the point that you're sorry. It's not even the point that you did it."

"Then what is the point?" Jayden asked.

"The point is you broke his trust. He trusted you to never hurt him and you failed. The point is that you're his best friend and you are the only one who can't see how hurt he is. Your the only one who can't see what this is doing to him. This might come as a surprise to you, Jayden, but it's not all about you. Not everything is centered around you. This is about Antonio. This about you becoming everything he's afraid of." The blue ranger put the last dish away and stalked out.

Jayden stood there for a moment, wondering what had just happened. "Since when is he so protective of Antonio? That's my job, and Lauren's I guess." He walked back to his room. He saw Antonio's door was shut tight. He could hear Mike saying something and Antonio laughed. Jayden stopped in his tracks, and for a single moment he could pretend that everything was normal. He hadn't hit Antonio and everyone still had respect for him. But then the moment was gone and Jayden was left with his ever confusing and upsetting reality.


	5. New Marks

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Five: New Marks

A/N: HEy guys! I got another chapter for ya! Please don't forget to review! Please, please, please, PLEASE!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The next day Jayden avoided everyone as best he could. Unfortunately being confined to the house made this hard. He was walking down the hall to his room not paying attention to where he was going. He bumped into something and stumbled backwards. He looked up. It was actually a someone.

Antonio looked up at him, then quickly looked down again. "S...s...sorry Jayden."

"No it was my fault," Jayden said. "I wasn't paying attention."

Antonio stared at the ground, hands behind his back. He continued on his way down the hall. Jayden stared after him sadly, then went to his room.

Lauren and the other rangers were training. She was practicing on a practice dummy while Kevin sparred with Mike, and Mia sparred with Emily. She glanced up and saw Antonio come out in to the yard. He sat down on a bench and watch he them train. She smiled as she continued to fight the dummy. _I'm glad he's finally decided not to hide in his room anymore._ She was still completely pissed off at Jayden. She had never been this mad at anyone before, and this scared her a little.

She and Antonio had only been together for a few weeks, but already whenever he was hurt or in trouble she was the first one to his side. At first she'd wondered if Jayden was jealous of how attentive she was to Antonio, and how much time he spent with her. Jayden and Antonio were best friends. A small part of her brain wondered if this jealousy had fed Jayden's anger. She didn't know, and knew she probably never would. Jayden never acted out of anger, and was good at keeping his emotions in check.

Whatever had changed in him that day was scary though. Lauren hadn't had contact with him while she was in hiding, but she loved her brother. They were family and they had to stick together, but she knew the kind of person Jayden was and this wasn't him. Like wise the timid, terrified person Antonio had become want him ether. She wished she could just lock them in a room together so they could fix whatever was wrong between them that had caused this. But she would never do it because she knew Antonio would have to be knocked out, tied up, and dragged. Plus, she didn't know if Jayden would attack him and give him even more bruises.

She glanced up at Antonio again. His face was still plenty swollen, and bruised. She noticed that he'd pulled his sleeve down over arm, hiding the area where Jayden had left a small bruise yesterday. "Let's take a break guys," she said. Everyone stopped what they were doing and went to get some water. She walked over to Antonio and rubbed his arm. His face contracted in pain, and he sucked his breath in. She jerked her hand away.

Kevin noticed this. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"Yeah," Antonio said quickly. "I...just bumped it off some thing earlier so its a little sore."

"Let me see," Lauren said. She grabbed his sleeve and started to pull it up, but he grabbed it, wrapping his hand around his arm tightly. He flinched made a small yelp of pain. Kevin sighed and unclenched his fingers from around arm and held it away.

"Hey let go of me!" Antonio shouted. He jerked back and forth, trying get them to let go. Mike and Emily came over and grabbed his shoulders trying to keep him still.

Lauren managed to get his sleeve up, and gasped. Yesterday she'd checked his arm and seen the small bruises from Jayden's fingers, but that was yesterday. Today, his arm had swollen a bit, and the small finger bruises had grown into a much bigger bruise shaped like a whole hand. "Did you show this to Ji?"

He shook his head. "No. I didn't want to show anyone."

"That's scary looking," Mike commented.

"Mike shut up," Kevin said. They let go of Antonio. The gold ranger pulled his sleeve back down. He refused to meet any of his friends' eyes. Lauren sighed.

"I'm gonna kill Jayden," she said.

Antonio's head shot up in fear. "No!" He said. "Don't confront Jayden, and don't tell Ji."

"Dude, there's a hand print on your arm," Mike said.

"No!" Antonio said again. "If...if Jayden keep gets getting confronted about this he'll get even madder. If he gets madder he...he'll hurt me even more!"

"Antonio," Lauren said gently touching his arm. "We can't let this go. It's hurting you..."

"If you say something Jayden will be hurting me!"

"We won't let that happen..." Mia began.

"That's what you said last time!" He interrupted. "Please, just let it go. Please!" He got up and went back inside the house.

Lauren sighed and shook her head. "That could have gone better," Mike said.

"He really is scared, isn't he?" Emily asked.

Lauren nodded. "Yeah. For now, no one confront Jayden about this."

"Are you going to tell Ji?" Kevin asked.

"Yes," she said carefully. "But, I'll make sure he knows not to get Jayden in even more trouble. Hopefully Antonio will get some peace of mind knowing that Ji knows what's going on.

"I'm not so sure," Emily said.

"Don't worry," Lauren said. "It's for the best. Come on," she grabbed her wooden katana. "Let's get some practicing done."

After practice Lauren went to Ji's study. She knocked on the door. "Come in," he said.

She opened the door and entered, shutting the door behind her. "Ji, there's something I need to talk to you about," she said.

"What about?" He asked.

"Earlier today, I saw a bruise on Antonio's arm on the place where Jayden grabbed him, shaped like a hand."

Ji nodded. "I see. Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, he jumped when I touched him."

"Well, like the bruises on his face there's nothing to do, but wait for it to heal."

She nodded. "I thought so. Just...can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Don't tell Jayden, or punish him more because of it. Antonio didn't want me to say anything because he's afraid if Jayden finds out he'll take it out on him."

Ji nodded. "Don't worry. I won't. You did the right thing by telling me though. It's good to know if he has any problems with his arm in the future."

"Ok," Lauren said. "I just thought you would know." She turned to go.

"Lauren," Ji said. She looked back. "Don't be to hard with him. There's more going on in that head than you know."

She nodded and left. Only when she was in the hall did she realize that she didn't know who Ji was talking about. She decided to look for Antonio and make sure he was ok. She started with his room since that was his usual hiding spot. She knocked in the door. "He's not in there," someone said from behind.

She jumped and turned around. Jayden was standing in the doorway to his own room. "Where is he?"

Jayden shrugged. "Some where in the house would be my guess."

Lauren was about to say something when the gap sensor went off. She sighed. _I'll find him later_, she thought going to the living room. The others were there, and had already checked the map.

"Brookside Park," Kevin said.

"Right, let's go," Lauren said, leading them out into battle.


	6. Still Got It

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Six: Still Got It

A/N: hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews I got! They made me so happy. i'm sorry if this battle isn't good. they're are not my specialty, but I'm working on it. Any hew...not sure how to spell that...on with the story!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The ranges arrived on the scene of the battle in no time. When they got there moogers were scaring people. The rangers grabbed their morphers. "Samuraizers," Lauren shouted.

"GO, GO SAMURAI!" They shouted morphing. They ran at the moogers, swinging their swords. Lauren destroyed two of them. She kicked another in the chest. She suddenly felt something hit her from behind. She flew through the air and landed on the ground, de-morphed.

"Lauren!" Emily said. She turned around, but couldn't see a nighlock. She felt something hit her in the chest multiple times. She stumbled backwards and de-morphed.

"Em!" Mike said. He took out another mooger and ran to help her. Something ran in front of him and sent him to the ground, landing on his face un-morphed.

"Mike!" Mia said. She blocked a blow form another mooger and kicked it. "What keeps attacking them?"

"I don't know," Kevin said, "just keep going." He felt something hit him from behind. He turned around and felt like someone was punching him in the stomach multiple times, extremely fast. He stumbled backwards, and de-morphed.

"Kevin!" Mia said. She looked around, uncertain. "Where are you?" she whispered, sword at the ready. Something hit her from behind. She spun around and felt it hit her in the back. The attacks switched from front to back. She swung her sword blindly and felt it hit something. Whatever it was tripped her to the ground, causing her to de-morph. She looked up and saw a nighlock.

He was green and slim, with six arms, with all the hand shaped as fists. He had antenna on his head. He looked like a large bug. "Haha," he laughed. "Hello rangers."

"What are you?" Lauren asked.

"I am Bugzoid! The catalyst of your demise. I move so fast you can't even see me. And if you can see me," he paused as he ran at Kevin who was attempting to get up. He disappeared as he ran and knocked Kevin to the ground again. He reappeared in his original spot. "You can't defeat me."

"We'll see about that," Lauren said getting up. Bugzoid ran at her. She felt her stomach and back being struck multiple times all in a row. It stopped and she fell to the ground.

He attacked each one, faster than they could see. Mike managed to make it to his feet and raised his morpher, but he felt something knock his wrist to far to the wrong side and he dropped his samuraizer in shock. He was knocked to his knees. Mia managed to summon her sword again, but she felt something grab her from behind, drag her down, and next thing she knew she pinned beneath the monster. She acquired and tried to throw him off, but he held her with a six hands in a iron grip. "Too fast for you rangers?" He taunted her.

"Fast?" Someone asked. Lauren looked and saw Antonio standing a few yards from the monster. "I know a couple things about that." He took out his morpher. "SAMURAI MORPHER, GOLD POWER!" He shouted morphing. "Let her go!" He pulled out his sword and attacked Bugzoid.

_Careful Tonio,_ Lauren thought.

Bugzoid smiled, if that was possible, and jumped off Mia. Antonio saw the monster move, but he moved to the side at the same speed. He was able to see Bugzoid try to punch him with his fists, but Antonio moved just as fast and blocked the blows. He hit Bugzoid in the chest, slowing him down a bit.

"Let's see you try this," Bugzoid said. He focused and came at Antonio even faster. The gold ranger saw him and let his mind slip away. He entered some kind of trance like state and blocked the blows from the nighlock. He hit Bugzoid again, and again. He moved faster than the nighlock, trying to catch him off guard.

"Ah!" Bugzoid shouted. "How...how is this possible."

"Speed is my thing," Antonio said. "Nothing stops me from protecting my friend. Especially not a slow moving nighlock." He spun and knocked Bugzoid back a few feet. Bugzoid ran around him in a wide arc, coming in from behind before Antonio could move and knocking him down. Antonio jumped up and ran after him, running as fast he could. Bugzoid turned and stopped at the last minute. Antonio had move to the side to avoid completely crashing into him and Bugzoid managed to hit him multiple times in the ribs. Antonio sucked his breath in pain. He stopped and faced the nighlock.

His muscles felt strained after moving so fast. Even he wasn't used to moving that fast. His lungs hurt form trying to give him enough oxygen to move fast. Bugzoid laughed. "Getting tired Gold Ranger?"

"No way," Antonio lied. "That was nothing for me."

"Is that so?" Bugzoid asked. "Well, let's see if you can handle this." Antonio braced himself, but he never got to find out what 'this' was because at that moment the gaps started to glow. Bugzoid smiled his creepy smile. "Looks like its your lucky day. I have to go. This isn't over." He disappeared through a gap back to the Netherworld.

"It never is," Antonio muttered. He de-morphed and put his hand to his head. His skull pounded with pain. _Now I think I understand why Ji told me not to fight._

"Antonio!" Lauren shouted running up to him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he said. The others came over to them.

"Dude," Mile said. "That was amazing."

"Definitely," Mia said.

"You've still got it," Kevin said smiling.

Antonio grinned a gold ranger-type smile. "What else would you expect? I am faster than light itself."

Emily laughed. "Yeah, he's still Antonio," she whispered to Mia who nodded.

Lauren smiled and wrapped one of Antonio's arms around her. "Come on, speedy. Lets get you home and checked out. Ji's gonna kill us for letting you fight."

"Hey," he protested. "It was my idea, and it wasn't premeditated."

"It was till awesome for being on the fly thinking," Mike said as they walked.

"Of course it was," Antonio said. "This is me, were talking about here."

Kevin could do nothing but smile. Antonio's being full of himself was annoying, but he much preferred it to anxious, scaredy-cat Antonio.

They got back to the Shiba House. They had enjoyed the walk back, even prolonging it a bit. The whole time they laughed and joked, and Antonio acted like himself. They walked into the yard and found Jayden was standing in the doorway of the house. He looked relieved when he saw them. Emily smiled. He may have been a jerk lately, but he was still Jayden.

"I was worried," he said as they approached.

They stopped in front of him. "Relax," Mike said. "We're all in one piece."

"Thanks to Antonio at least," Mia said.

Jayden frowned. "I thought he wasn't supposed to fight?"

"When has that ever stopped him." Kevin asked.

Jayden looked at Antonio who was currently hidden behind Lauren. Mike glanced over and sighed. He'd dropped back into submissive, frightened Antonio again.

Lauren cleared her throat. "Why don't you guys go inside? We'll be there in a minute."

The others except for Jayden, Lauren, and Antonio went into the house to get checked out by Ji. The three of them stood there awkwardly for a minute not saying anything.

"So," Jayden said, breaking the silence. "Apparently you saved them."

Antonio stared at the ground. His stomach hurt. He wasn't sure if it was because he was scared, or because of his injuries. "I...I guess," he said.

"You guess?" Jayden asked. _I don't think I've ever heard him say that before._

"Antonio, go have Ji look at you," Lauren said to him. "I'll be right there." He nodded and walked up to the house. Jayden quickly moved to the side. He raised his hands up to his face as Antonio passed. The gold ranger flinched away for a moment then made a mad dash into the house. Lauren shook her head sadly.

"What?" Jayden asked. "I just thought he'd like to know where my hands are, so he'd think I won't hit him."

"Well raising them up probably wasn't the best idea."

"Ok true," Jayden admitted. "Did he really save you guys?"

"Yeah," Lauren said. "The nighlock had us really overwhelmed."

"Sorry I wasn't there to help."

"You deserve your punishment Jay," Lauren said.

"I know," he said. He sighed. "He's so terrified he won't go near me. He won't look at me, he can't even be in the same room as me." Lauren didn't have to ask what who he was talking about. "I never meant for this to happen. I still can't believe I did it."

"None of us can."

"I don't want to be someone my friends fear. I'm really sorry I did it."

"I know you are," Lauren said. Jayden looked at her in surprise and shock. "Oh, don't give me that look. We all know you're sorry, but we can't forgive you."

"Why?"

"Because Antonio doesn't know that, and you can't even figure out what's really bothering him."

_Again with this?_ "What does that even mean?"

She shrugged. "You're his best friend. Figure it out." She walked past him into the house. He shield and followed her in.

In the Nethworld Bugzoid stood on the shore of the Sanzu River. He stood across form Octoroo, not sure he had heard the short nighlock correctly. "Let me get this straight. You think that you can make me more powerful?"

"Oo ah oo, you battle with gold ranger gave me an idea."

"What kind of idea?"

"Oo ah oo, it's an old nighlock spell that will make you faster."

"Really?"

"Oo ah oo, indeed. And we're going to use the gold ranger to do it."

Uh oh, what do the nighlock have planned? Will Jayden be able to figure out what's really bugging Antonio? I wonder if you guys know. Bonus pint go the first person to figure it out. (Hint: I've already given a few foreshadows in the story.) :) please review!


	7. Nobodies and Mysteries

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Seven: Nobodies and Mysteries

A/N: hey guys and gals! Sorry if the chapters are short, but I couldn't think of anything else's to write in it. Anyways, read on, and don't forget to review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Inside the house Antonio sat in the infirmary room while Ji looked at his head. "Antonio," he sighed. "When I told you not to fight, I was doing it for your well being. If you don't let this concussion heal, there's going to be issues."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Antonio protested, wincing as Ji gently touched his ribs, checking for breaks. "I had to help the others. They were in trouble."

"I know," Ji said. "You wanted to help your friends, and I get that. I would expect nothing less from you, but please try it remember that you're still not fully recovered from..." Ji stopped suddenly. He was so used to lecturing the rangers about this that he had forgotten who he was actually talking to.

Antonio looked at the ground. "It's alright Ji. You can say it. Ever since Jayden beat me up."

Ji turned around and grabbed supplies to redo Antonio's stitches he had ripped open. "That's not exactly how I was going to say it."

"How would you say it then? It's what happened."

Ji was quiet for a moment. "I think you two had a misunderstanding. A very painful one for both of you."

Now it was Antonio's turn to be quiet. "I just wish I could take that day back. Let him search my room instead of trying to argue with him."

"Antonio," Ji said as he began restitching his head. "You can't blame yourself. Jayden was the one who hit you. You never did anything but defend yourself."

"I provoked him."

"Like I said, you were just trying to defend yourself."

"Yeah, that always seems to provoke them," he whispered. He flinched realizing his mistake. Ji noticed this.

"Provoke who?" He asked, trying to sound casual. "Who is them?"

Antonio didn't say anything for a couple minutes. "Them is nobody. Nobody I want to talk about, and certainly nobody I want to group Jayden with."

"I see. These nobodies, did they ever hit you?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Antonio said.

"Talking about it will make you feel better," Ji said.

"No it won't," Antonio said. "It's in the past. You can't fix the past. All you can do with deal with it."

"True," Ji said. "But the way you deal with it can help make the past a little easier to deal with."

"I guess," Antonio said, not really believing him.

"Can I ask you one thing though?" Ji asked. Antonio looked at him. "These nobodies and their mysterious actions, why don't you want to talk about them?"

Antonio thought about it for a minute while Ji checked his arm for sprains. "It's too hard I guess. It forces me to remember things I wish I could forget."

"You can't forget them?" He asked. "Have you tried?"

"A lot. More than you can imagine."

"So the only reason that you don't want to talk about it is its to painful of a memory?" He looked at Antonio. "It's just too painful, right?"

Antonio shifted a little. "Yeah. I mean, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, I mean. I just...I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright," Ji said letting the issue drop. "But this isn't over."

"It never is," Antonio said smiling.

"Looks like you're ok," Ji said. "Just remember not to fight. I'm extending your probation from training for a while longer."

Antonio nodded. "Fair enough."

"I know it is. Now get some rest. You need to be careful not harm yourself anymore."

"Alright," Antonio said. There was a knock at the door. Antonio felt his muscles tense as Jayden came in.

"Ah..." The red ranger said, clearly uncertain. "I...I wanted to talk to Antonio."

Ji looked at Antonio. The gold ranger was now looking at the ground, twiddling his thumbs like it wasn't his decision. "Antonio," Ji said. "Is it alright that Jayden talks to you?"

Antonio hesitated then nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly. "He...he can talk."

Ji nodded to Jayden who came farther into the room. "Um...can I talk to him alone?"

"No!" Antonio shouted suddenly terrified. "Don't leave," he said looking at Ji.

Ji nodded. "If you want me to stay I will."

Jayden shifted on his feet. "Are you ok?" He asked Antonio. "I mean...after the battle and everything."

Antonio nodded. "I'm...fine," he said quietly.

"Good," Jayden said. "I guess you really saved the day." He looked at Antonio who was staring at the ground. He noticed that the gold ranger was shaking. He started to clench and unclench his fists. "Antonio?"

"Antonio?" Ji asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Antonio what's wrong?" Antonio could only shake his head. "I think you should go," Ji said looking at Jayden.

The red ranger nodded. He cast one more worried look Antonio's way, then left. Ji checked to make sure he wasn't lurking in the hall. He turned around to see Antonio bent over with his head in his hands, fists pulling at his hair. Ji went over and pat him on the back. "Does he scare you that much?" Ji asked. Antonio shook his head. "Does he scare you?"

Antonio nodded. "You don't trust him do you?" Antonio shook his head. "What's wrong?"

Antonio took a claiming breath and picked his head up. "It's not fair," he said sadly. "It's just not fair."


	8. Trouble

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Eight: Trouble

A/N: hey! The chalter's short, but I couldn't think anything to write...again. Anyways, please review and and enjoy!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The next day the rangers, minus Jayden and Antonio, were training in the yard. Lauren looked over and saw Antonio was sitting on the bench in the yard again. She smiled. She was glad he was starting to come outside more. Jayden came out and stood in the doorway watching them. _Oh no. This is about to get interesting._

She caught Kevin's eye. She could tell the blue ranger was thinking the same thing. She looked back at Antonio. By this time she'd stopped training. Antonio noticed this. He looked around wondering what made her stop. His heart skipped a few beats when he saw Jayden. He slide away form him. Unfortunately this action dumped him off the bench and onto the ground.

"Are you ok?" Jayden asked him.

Antonio wanted to answer, but his mouth wouldn't open. His breath started becoming faster. Lauren came over to him. "Are you ok?" She asked kneeling down next to him.

He couldn't answer. He could barely even hear her.

"Are you ok?" Lauren asked again, becoming increasingly worried. Antonio just stared at Jayden. The red ranger retreated into the house. He sighed. _I really wish he would stop reacting like that._

Back in the yard the others had gotten Antonio calmed down. "I'm alright," he said getting up.

"Are you sure?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I just...I just need some air. I'm going to go fishing."

Lauren smiled. "Ok," she said. "Have fun."

"Always," he said giving her a kiss.

He got up and grabbed his fishing gear before leaving the yard. Lauren was still smiling as she rejoined the training. _He needs to fish,_ she thought. _Get back to some sort of normalcy._

Antonio was cornered. He stared at Ryan, trying to hide his fear. He put his fists up in a meager attempt to defend himself.

"Go ahead," Ryan sneered. "Hit me. I dare you."

Antonio wanted to. He tightened his fist. Ryan laughed and punched him in the face. Antonio's head snapped back and hit the wall. His eye hurt. He whimpered in pain. Ryan laughed. Antonio punched him feebly, but Ryan easily deflected it. He punched Antonio in the chest, hard. He lost his breath for a moment, then punched him again.

This time he hit him square in the face. Ryan stumbled back as his nose started to bleed. He glared angrily at Antonio. He shoved him back into the wall. "Stupid retard!" He shouted. "Pathetic weakling!" He punched him in the face again. Antonio punched him back.

"Mr. Garcia!" A teacher shouted coming down the hall. He stopped in front of the two boys. "What's going on here?"

"He hit me Mr. Quintin!" Ryan said. "I was just minding my own business and he came along and punched me!"

"Is this true?" The teacher asked Antonio.

"No...well not exactly..."

"Did you or did you not hit him? Yes or no?"

Antonio sighed. "Yes."

"Come with me," Mr. Quintin said. Antonio grabbed his bag and followed him. He glanced back at Ryan who smirked and walked away.

Antonio reached a secluded river. It was his favorite fishing spot. Away from everyone where he could think. He smiled. It felt good to be away from the house for a little bit. It felt really good to be fishing. Really good. He heard a twig snap. He looked around. Something moved in the foliage. His hand reached for his morpher in his pocket. The movement came closer and closer. As it did his hand closed around his morpher. He pulled it out of his pocket.

He tensed as...a bunny hopped out of the woods. He relaxed and smiled. He laughed. "I think I'm losing it."

"Your losing something all right," a voice said behind him.

Just as he turned around to investigate something hit him in the back of the head. Pain exploded through his skull, and body. His morpher fell from his hands as he hit the ground and everything went black.


	9. Missing

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Nine: Missing

A/N: sup guys?! Thanks for all the reviews! They're so amazing! Here's the next chapter:

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Lauren stood in the doorway of the Shiba House watching the gate. Kevin and Mike came out. "He's still not back yet?" Mike asked.

"No. I'm starting to get worried."

"You know Antonio," Kevin said. "He probably just lost track of time."

"Have you tired calling him?" Mike asked.

"Like ten times," Lauren said. "I'm going to look for him."

"Wait a second," Mike said. He disappeared for a moment. "Ok," he said. "Kevin and I are going with you."

"Aright, lets go before it gets dark," Lauren said. The three of them set off. "Lets check the docks first," she said

"You really think he just lost track of time?" Mike asked Kevin in a whisper.

"Well what do you think happened?"

"He could've run away."

"He wouldn't run away."

"I don't know. He's been afraid of his own shadow lately."

"Only if his shadow looks like Jayden."

"Touché."

They reached the docks and looked around. "Split up," Lauren said. She went one way and the boys went the other way. "Antonio," she said as she walked. She passed fishermen packing up preparing to go home. She didn't see him though.

Mike and Kevin walked the opposite way. "Antonio!" Mike said.

"Antonio!" Kevin called. He turned his head, but there was no sign of the gold ranger. "This is weird."

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "I got a bad feeling about this."

"No kidding," Kevin said. He wanted to believe that Antonio was just being himself and was completely immersed in fishing. "Something doesn't add up," he said suddenly.

"What doesn't?" Mike asked.

"I don't know," Kevin admitted. "It just feels like we're missing something."

"Yeah one gold ranger."

Kevin wanted to slap him. "That's not what I meant. Let's just keep looking." They walked down the docks, calling for Antonio. A couple of people gave them strange looks, but the samurai ignored them. "Antonio!" Kevin called again.

"Come on man, " Mike called, "this isn't funny!"

"Antonio where are you?!"

"Antonio!"

"Guys!" Lauren said running up to them. "I don't think we're going to find him here."

"Then where else could he be?" Mike asked.

"He could've gone fishing at a lake, or a pond, a stream, or river, or something," Lauren suggested.

"But there are tons of those around," Kevin said. "We won't be able to search them all."

"Where could he have gone?" Mike asked.

"I don't know," Lauren said. She looked out over the ocean. The sun was setting fast, there was maybe a half hour of daylight left. She bit her lip. "Let's go back to the house. Maybe he returned while we were gone."

Back at the Shiba House Emily and Mia were sitting in the living room when Lauren, Mike, and Kevin came in. "Is Antonio here?" Lauren asked.

"No," Emily said "we haven't seen him."

Lauren sighed and sat down. "Isn't he fishing?" Mia asked.

"He was," Lauren said, "but he should be back by now. It's getting dark."

"Maybe he just lost track of time," Mia suggested.

"That's what I thought," Kevin said. "There's just something that feels wrong about this."

"He couldn't have gotten that far," Emily said. "Maybe we could all look."

"But he could be anywhere," Mike said. "And it's almost dark. We won't find him in the dark."

"I'm going to talk to Ji," Lauren said. She got up and left.

"Do you really think he could be in danger?" Emily asked.

"He could've just run away," Mike said.

"But Antonio wouldn't run away," Mia said.

"I don't know," Mike said. "With the way things have been lately between him and Jayden. He might've decided to get away for a bit."

"You really think Jayden scares him that much that Antonio would just leave?"

Mike shrugged. "I would've never thought so, but with everything that's happened lately, I've learned things you never thought would happen can happen, and by the people you never thought."

Jayden was hiding near the doorway to the living room. He listened to the rangers talking. _Antonio's missing!?_ He thought alarmed. He flinched when he heard Mike say that Jayden had pretty much chased Antonio away. _It couldn't have been that. There must be another explanation._ He thought back to all the times he'd seen Antonio lately. The fear in his eyes. _He wouldn't abandon us because of me? Right?_

He wanted to believe it wasn't true, but there was a lot of doubt. "He wouldn't leave," Jayden muttered to himself. "He wouldn't leave."

"Of course he wouldn't," Lauren said from behind him.

Jayden turned around. "Then what do you think happened?"

Lauren shifted on her feet. "I know we have the same idea."

Jayden shrugged. "Think so?"

"Know so."

"Then what happened?"

"I don't want to be the one to say it..."

"Someone has to."

"Say what?" Kevin asked.

"When did you get here?" Lauren asked.

"Just now. What are you guys thinking?"

Lauren sighed. "I'll tell you, but don't tell the others. I don't want them to panic."

Kevin nodded. "Panicking would be bad."

"Ok..." She took a deep breath. "I think the nighlocks might have captured him."

It took them a minute to process this. "Why?" Kevin asked.

"You mean why do they have him, or why do I think they have him?"

"Both."

"We all know he wouldn't run off. Terrified of Jayden or not. He wouldn't just up and leave without telling us anything." _Without saying good-bye,_ she add silently. "As to why they could've done this, I have no idea. He could just be lost in the woods or something, but..."

Kevin nodded. "With our luck it's probably the nighlocks."

"What do we do?" Jayden asked.

"You do nothing," Lauren said. "You could still be the reason he's gone. The rest of us will search in the morning," she said to Kevin. "I just hope he's ok until then."


	10. Captured

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Ten: Captured

A/N: hello good people! So here's your next update! Thanks for all the reviews! They, lie your good selves, are amazing! And...read on!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio opened his eyes. His skull was pounding with pain. He groaned. He tried to touch his head, but he couldn't move his arms. He blinked and looked around. He became aware of rope tying his hands together behind him. He sighed and wiggled around. He was tied to a tree and it was very uncomfortable.

"Oo aa oo, look who's finally a wake." Antonio looked around again. He head was still pounding and his thoughts were clouded. "Oo aa oo, that would have messed up my plan if they hit you too hard." Antonio blinked again. His vision blurred then focused. He saw Octoroo standing not very far away.

"O...Octoroo," he said. His voice sounded loud in his ears. "Wh...what? Wh...where..." He couldn't form an entire thought.

"Oo aa oo," Octoroo said. "We captured you for something important."

"Im...important?" Antonio could feel blood running down the back of his neck. _My head must be bleeding._

"Oo aa oo, you're going to help us defeat your friends."

"N...nnnn...no." He took a deep breath. "N...never."

"Hahaha," another nighlock laughed. "He thinks he has a choice." Antonio looked around again. Someone grabbed his hair and slammed his head back against the tree. He cried out in pain, his still pounding head hitting the tree. "That's so cute," the nighlock said in his ear. The nighlock let Antonio's head fall back down.

_That voice. That...voice. _His vision blurred again. His brain wasn't working right and he couldn't think of a name or face. He blinked. His vision focused, but there was red dots all over it. He blinked them away. _Bugzoid,_ he thought when he saw the six armed nighlock. "What...what do you what with me?" He managed it get out.

"You'll find out," Bugzoid said. "In time. For now we're going to enjoy watching your little friends squirm as they wonder where you are."

"My...friends. Th...they'll find me," he said. "They'll find me, and destroy you."

"Oo aa oo Gold Ranger," Octoroo said. "Think again. We've set up barriers so that your friends can't find us. Even if they try to track you."

"Face it, we got you," Bugzoid said. "Your time has come."

"A...fraid not," Antonio said. "You...you don't scare me."

"Not now," Bugzod came closer and knelt done in front of Antonio. His face only inches away. "But soon you will beg us to end your pitiful life."

"Not likely," Antonio said, masking his fear. Bugzoid sneered and stood up. He moved like he was going to leave, but then he spun around, back-handing Antonio. He wanted to cry out in pain as he felt heat and pain shot through his face. His head snapped to the side, his stitches hitting the tree with great force, and everything was black.

He awoke some time later. He blinked and looked around. _Crap,_ he thought seeing the mooger guards. _I was hoping it was a dream._ "Or a nightmare," he thought. He sighed and tried to readjust himself. The bark of the tree was scraping his back. He licked his lips. His throat felt dry, but he doubted they would give him any water. _I probably wouldn't trust any water from them anyway, _Antonio thought. He looked around trying to look for a way to escape.

He could see the barriers on the trees surrounding him. There were moogers walking around patrolling the area. There was a fire burning a few yards away. It was close enough to give him light, but not close enough for him to feel the heat. He twisted his hands in the ropes. They were tied so tight he could barley move at all. Escaping wasn't going to be a very viable option. _The other rangers will come. They'll find me. They'll save me._

He looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. He wasn't afraid of the dark, but he didn't want to be left alone and tied up with nighlocks all night. _What could they want?_ he wondered. _What could they want?_ His head was still pounding. He began to fell a pain in his wrist. He twisted his wrists again. He moved his arms.

"Trying to escape?" Bugzoid asked him walking over. He began circling Antonio.

"Let me go," Antonio said.

"I don't think so," the nighlock said. He crouched down in front of Antonio. "What happen to your face? Another samurai do that to you?"

"No!" Antonio lied. "None of my friends would ever hurt me."

"I don't know. You are pretty pathetic. It only took the moogers one blow to take you down, but then this isn't the first time they've gotten you easily."

"Shut up," Antonio said angrily.

Bugzoid slapped him. "That's not very nice Gold Ranger," he said shaking his head. "You should learn a little respect."

"Respect?" Antonio asked. "I'll die before I show any respect to you nighlocks."

"We can arrange that," Bugzoid. He produced a hidden dagger and held the tip against Antonio's throat. "Now, you will be a good little samurai and do as I say."

"Or what?" Antonio asked.

Bugzoid smiled. He made a long cut from Antonio's temple all the way down to his cheek, reopening his stitches, yet again. Antonio bit his lip to resist yelling in pain. "That's only taste of what I'll do to you if you don't do as I say." He laughed and walked away.

Antonio could feel blood running down his face. It dripped onto his shirt. _When I get out of this, I'm gonna kill him._

A/N: so I'm not going to be going into great detail about what the nighlocks will do to Antonio, cause I don't want it to get to graphic. Just letting you guys and gals know. Please review and tell me what you think!


	11. The Search Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Eleven: The Search Begins

A/N: hello again! I've decided I want to I update this one more often, so here you go!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The next morning the rangers searched for Antonio. Jayden had convinced Lauren to let him help. She had only caved because she didn't want anyone going off alone and with six people they could look in pairs. So now Jayden and Kevin trekked through the woods together.

"Antonio!" Kevin yelled. "Antonio where are you!?"

"Antonio!" Jayden called. "Antonio!"

"Where could he have possibly gone?" Kevin asked. Jayden shook his head. "What?" Kevin asked.

"Huh?" Jayden asked. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking though."

"How do you know?" Jayden asked as they resumed their search.

Kevin smiled. "Believe me. I might not be Antonio, but I know you well enough to know when your thinking about something."

Jayden smiled. It was both reassuring and creepy that his friends knew him so well. "I was thinking that I feel like I should know where he went fishing, but I can't place my finger on it."

"You don't say..." Kevin said.

"Yeah." Jayden laughed bitterly. "Guess I can just add this to the list of ways I've failed him."

"It's not your fault," Kevin said.

"We can't prove that," Jayden said. "Lately everything has been my fault. Antonio going missing...getting hurt..." He couldn't go on.

Kevin didn't say anything. He was still mad at Jayden for what happened. "You can't change it," he said.

"You're mad at me."

It wasn't a question. "Yes."

"Why?" Kevin didn't say anything. "Look, I get that there's some big secret that I'm supposed to know..."

"It's not a secret," Kevin said. "It's not. That's what makes me mad. It's not a secret. In fact it's quite obvious."

"You're not making any sense."

Kevin sighed. "Think about it Jayden. You know him better than me. You know more about his past..."

"No I don't," Jayden said. "He's told me next to nothing about his past. Every time I start to ask him about what he was doing all these years he redirected the conversation."

"Ok," Kevin said. "So none of us know about his past."

"So how do you know what's wrong?"

"Because you don't have to know about his past. The fact that we don't just makes me more sucpisous."

"Why?"

"Because. You know Antonio. He talks all the time. He's nothing but happy and cheerful. He never shows anger or aggregation."

"So..."

"So, if he's this pleased with life all the time, how come whenever someone tries to get him to talk about the past he clams up and looks..."

"You can't describe the look on his face ether?"

"It's like a mix of anger, sadness, self-pity, loathing, and fear."

"You are very good at reading people."

"You are not."

"True. So you think this has something to do with his past."

"I think whatever's going on has reminded him of something he doesn't want to remember."

Jayden didn't say anything. _The worst part is I can't imagine what it could be if this remembrance was caused by my abusing him._ Little did he know Kevin was thinking the same thing.

Antonio wasn't sleeping, but he pretended to none the less. He didn't want to face the nighlocks. He heard the sound of footsteps. _Of course there's footsteps, _he thought, scolding himself. _I'm being guarded by nighlocks._ Then he heard the voices. They were faint at first and he thought that he must have imagined them. But then he heard them again. He opened his eyes and looked around.

Everything was the same as it had been when he fell asleep some time the night before. He listened again.

"Antonio!" called a voice. It was far away from him, but sounded like it was getting closer. He recognized that voice. _Lauren!_ he thought happily.

He open his mouth to call out to her, but a piece of cloth was suddenly placed in it. "Uh uh uh," Bugzoid said. "No talking. We wouldn't want your little friends to find you, now do we?" He tied the cloth so it gagged Antonio, who was only able to make noises, but no words.

"Antonio!" Lauren called again.

Antonio yelled as best he could, his already weak voice muffled by the gag. Bugzoid kicked him in the ribs. "Quiet," he said. "You make so mush as a whisper, I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to the moogers."

Antonio didn't doubt him. He stayed quiet, not that anyone would be able to hear him. The footsteps got closer. As they did Bugzoid drew his dagger and held it at Antonio's throat, holding the gold ranger's head by his hair.

"Antonio!" Lauren called yet again. She was getting closer. Bugzoid motioned for the moogers to hide, which they did by disappearing into gaps. "Antonio!" She was now so close Antonio could just barely make her out through the foliage. He saw part of her face. She was looking away from him. "Antonio!" She called again.

He could hear the worry laced in her voice. He wished he could call out to her, tell her he was alive. Tell her she was close. He felt panicked when use moved away. "Antonio!" Her voice started to get softer. "Antonio!" Soon the sound of her receding footsteps became so faint he couldn't even hear them.

"Antonio!" Her voice sounded far away. _No!_ he thought. _Lauren! Come back! I'm here! _His spirits dropped as he heard her call out again. "Antonio!" He strained to hear her. He wiggled, trying to say something, but Bugzoid just pressed the dagger at his throat harder. "Antonio!" Lauren called, now barely able to be heard. He listened for her, but now there was silence. For a few minutes Bugzoid waited, then moved away and called back the moogers.

He didn't bother to undo the gag on Antonio's mouth and left it there. Antonio's listened for the sound of Lauren's voice, but he couldn't hear it any more. He felt despair well up inside of him. He wished he could scream for her. He tried, but all that came out were hoarse cries muffled by the gag. He leaned back against the tree. He closed his eyes, his memory relishing the sound of his girlfriend's voice.

Lauren called for Antonio again. As if this was enough to bring him back. _Where is he?_ she thought. She had broken her own rule about sticking with your partner and left Mia on the path a few minutes back. She had just wanted to check. She sighed and checked her watch. It was almost noon. She reached the path again and found Mia.

"Anything?" the pink samurai asked hopefully.

"No," Lauren said. "Nothing."

Mia sighed. "Maybe the others found something."

Lauren doubted it. If they had they would've called her, but maybe there was a chance. She pulled out her samuraizer and called Kevin.

"Hello?" Kevin asked.

"It's me," Lauren said. "Have you found anything?"

"Nope," Kevin said. "No signs of him. I would fell better if we could at least find his fishing gear or something."

"I know what you mean," Lauren said. "Well keep looking. He has to be around here somewhere."

"Got it," Kevin said before hanging up.

Lauren called Mike next. "Yes?" said the green ranger.

"Have you and Emily found anything?"

"No. We haven't seen any sign of him."

"Keep looking," Lauren said.

"Got it," Mike said. He looked over at Emily who was taking a rest under a tree.

"Anything to report?" she asked hopefully.

"Not a thing," he admitted.

She looked at the ground. "Why is it always him?"

"What do you mean?"

"It appears that when the nighlocks capture someone he's involved somehow."

"Last time it was just convenience."

"And this time?"

He shrugged. "We won't know till we find him."

"I hope that's soon," Emily said. "With everything that's been going on, the nighlocks sure didn't pick a good time."

"It's never a good time," Mike said leading her through the woods as they resumed their search.

"Yeah, but this timing is awful. With everything that's happened it Antonio lately, this will probably drive him over the edge."

"Probably," Mike said. "But he's tough. He'll hang on."

"Think so?"

"Absolutely," Mike said putting his arm around her. "You know Antonio. Nothing fazes him." _Except Jayden,_ he added silently.

"You're right," Emily said looking slightly better. "He'll hang on. He just has to hang on long enough for us to find him."

_Now if only we knew when that would be,_ Mike thought as they followed the path.

A/N: please review! Pretty please!


	12. Blame

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twelve: Blame

A/N: greetings good people! I have another chapter done! Yay! Don't forget to review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio's head hurt so much he could barely even feel it. It had been a few hours since he'd seen Lauren. After that his sprits had gotten lower and lower with each passing hour he didn't hear anyone. He tried to move his arms again. The ropes were starting to dig into his wrists.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Bugzoid asked, tauntingly.

"Hhhh mmmmnn mmmm!" Antonio said.

"What was that?" Bugzoid asked. "Do you want me to take this off?"

"Mmmmmm!" Antonio said stringing against his restraints.

"Say please." Antonio shook his head. "If you don't say please I won't do it."

"Mmmm! Mmmm!"

"It's not nice to yell," Bugzoid said. He grabbed Antonio's throat and pushed it against the tree. "Maybe someone needs to teach you a lesson." He squeezed harder. "If you what me to stop, then say so."

"Mmmmmmmm! Mmmmm!" Antonio said.

"Don't forget to say please."

"Mmmm!" Antonio said, his lungs straining to breathe.

"No? Ok then." Bugzoid increased the pressure on Antonio's throat. The gold ranger started to feel light headed. "Pathetic," was the last thing he heard before the world went black.

The rangers returned to the house after spending the whole day searching. Lauren stood in the doorway. She looked over the wall at the setting sun. _I'm sorry._ She rested her forehead against the doorframe. "I'm so sorry."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Jayden said from behind. He walked out and stood leaning against the house.

She sighed. "A lot of stuff. I haven't been there when he needs me."

"How?" Jayden asked.

"I wasn't there when he went missing," she said.

"Missing," Jayden said. "So you think there's a chance he wasn't captured then?"

"I think it's a small chance, but yes. There's a chance."

"You really want to believe it don't you?"

"And you don't?" she asked.

"I want to believe he's safe. That he's not in pain. That I'm not the reason he's gone."

"If the noghlocks have him then I don't think you have to worry about that last part."

"No, but then I have to worry about what they want with him."

"That's another thing. If the nighlocks did take him, then why?"

Jayden shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"I want to keep looking, but I don't know where else to look."

"Well, assuming he was captured, he could be in a warehouse somewhere."

Lauren nodded. "That's not a bad idea."

"Am I coming too?"

She smiled. "I'll think about it. He might not come back with us if you're there."

Jayden nodded. "Sad and awful, but true." He sighed and stood up straight. "We'll find him Lauren," he said before going inside.

She remained where she was. Inside she was worried, but she also scared, something she would never admit. _What if he's hurt and no is around to help him? _she wondered. _What if...what if I never see him again?_ She couldn't bare the last thought. "No! Stop!" she told herself. "I need to think positive. I need to think that wherever he is he's ok. That he's looking for a way to come back."

She sighed and went into the house. She found Emily, Mia, and Mike sitting in the living room. "Hey guys," she said sitting down with them.

"Hey Lauren," Emily said.

"Tired?" Mia asked.

Lauren smiled. "Just hard to sleep."

"We'll find him," Mike said.

"Hmmm,..."

"Lauren?" Emily asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think he was captured by nighlocks?"

Lauren decided not to ask how they'd found out. "It's the most likely answer," she said. "After all, what are the chances he's lost in the woods or ran away?"

"Not high," said Mia. "Antonio loves us too much of leave."

"It'll be ok," Lauren told them. "We'll find him soon."

"I hope so," Mike said. "But, and don't take this the wrong way, Lauren. If we don't find him, I'm never trusting Jayden again."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because, it's his fault. I'll be the one to say it out loud. This is his fault. If he hadn't hit Antonio we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Mike you don't know that," Emily said.

"And," said Mike continuing like he hadn't heard her, "anything that has happened to Antonio, is going to effect him ten times worse. So yes, I do blame Jayden. No one else will do it but I will."

Lauren shook her head. "Mike, I know you're angry about what Jayden has done, but that doesn't mean every bad thing that happens to Antonio is his fault."

"It is," Mike said. "Because even if Antonio's still alive, he might think we're not coming to get him because Jayden could detour us. When the nighlocks captured Ji and Antonio, he had so much faith Jayden would save him. Jayden. He trusted Jayden more than anyone else in the world. Jayden violated that trust, so now who does Antonio have to believe in?"

Lauren wanted to say herself, but in truth, she knew part of what Mike was saying was right. Jayden and Antonio were best friends. Jayden was everything Antonio wanted to be. They had a special bond that not even Lauren could replace. "Mike," she said. "Whoever your blame for this is up to you, but just remember that Jayden is sorry for what he did. I know he didn't mean it."

"Sorry doesn't change the past," Mike said. "Sorry can't save Antonio now. Only Jayden can do that."


	13. The Search Continues

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Thirteen: The Search Continues

A/N: hello good people! I have returned with yet another chapter! Please review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The rangers set out early in the morning to search for Antonio more. Lauren decided to take Jayden's advice and search warehouses. It was now the third day of Antonio's disappearance. They split up into pairs again and got to work. Lauren and Mia came to another one. Lauren opened it and they walked in.

"Antonio!" she shouted. "Antonio are you here!" She pushed aside boxes and crates, not caring where they landed.

"Antonio!" Mia called. "Antonio!" She looked under old work benches and tables, but found nothing but dust bunnies and spider webs. She sighed and straightened up after checking the last one. She looked back at Lauren. She could tell by the look on her face she'd found nothing as well.

"Come on," the red ranger said. "Lets go search another one." They left, making sure to shut the warehouse behind them and moved on.

Mike tossed an empty box aside as he and Emily searched. "Antonio!" he called for the tenth time, even though he knew that if the gold ranger was there, he would've answered by now.

"Antonio!" Emily shouted as well. She moved the boxes a bit more gently, merely picking them up and setting them down out of the way. Mike smiled. Emily glanced his way. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said shaking his head. "Just...nothing."

"Seriously what?"

"I just think its funny that here I am throwing boxes aside anxious to find him, and you're just gently moving them in an Emily like way."

"Is there anything wrong with moving them in an Emily like way?" the earth samurai asked teasingly.

Mike shook his head. "No. But it makes me smile, and three hasn't really been a reason to smile lately."

Emily nodded. "I know. If Antonio was his old self he would tell us to laugh and smile."

Mike nodded. "We will. If we find him I suspect Lauren will be smiling a lot."

"If...?" Emily asked not missing the word. Mike turned away without saying anything. "Mike what do you mean by, if we find him?"

Mike sighed. "Because in reality, we might not. He's been gone for three days. If he's lying injured somewhere, then he'll die of dehydration. If the nighlocks have him, then...again, he'll probably die of dehydration, if they haven't killed him themselves."

"You think he's dead?" Emily asked in a shaking voice.

"I think that we can hope, but Antonio might not be alive anymore. There's a pretty good chance that if we do find him, it'll be his corpse."

Emily shook her head, trying to hold back her tears. "Then you don't think there's any hope left?"

"I didn't stay that. I'm still hopeful, but reality is something we can't avoid."

Emily turned away from him as silent tears leaked from her eyes. She didn't say anything else as she Mike searched. _No,_ she scolded herself. _Don't cry. Think about how strong Antonio must be trying to stay._ She wiped her eyes. Everyone was trying to be strong, especially Lauren. Emily could tell Lauren wanted to break down and cry, but she was strong for everyone else.

Emily looked over at Mike who was resuming his search. Everything was so complicated. She wanted feel bad for Jayden. He obviously felt bad for what he'd done, but she was still mad at him for hurting Antonio. _Why does this have to be complicated?_

Kevin sighed as Jayden closed the door of yet another empty warehouse. "How many of these does this city have?"

Jayden shook his head. "Far too many." He looked around. This one was close to the docks. They started walking away, looking for more warehouses to search.

"Where could he possibly be?" Kevin asked. "It's been three days."

"I don't know," Jayden said. He kicked at a stray rock on the ground. It had rained yesterday, keeping them from searching. He looked out over the sea. "Looks like its going to rain again."

Kevin nodded. "Hope Antonio's got some shelter."

Jayden hoped so as well, but he doubted it. They continued to walk down the docks. Jayden watched people fishing, and felt sadness inside of him. _Antonio would be here right now, _he thought. _He'd be here fishing like he always does._

Kevin glanced at Jayden and couple tell what he was thinking. "We'll find him," the blue ranger said.

"I know," Jayden answered.

"Oh, you do? Do you?"

Jayden nodded. "Oh yes. Because I will not stop until he's safe."

Kevin smiled. "I know you won't."

The two rangers continued their way down the docks. They stopped as they heard screaming. Kevin's samuraizer went off. "Yeah?" he asked answering it.

"Kevin there's a nighlock attack," Lauren said.

At that moment moogers appeared out of gaps, surrounding the blue and red rangers. The took defensive stances. "Oh you don't say?"


	14. Deception

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Fourteen: Deception

A/N: Hello people! So this is the next chapter! Please review! Please!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Jayden ducked as a mooger swung its sword at his head. He kicked it in the chest. He looked around for something to defend himself with. He backed up, drawing the some of the moogers away with him. He looked over at Kevin who was now morphed and fighting.

Jayden looked around again. He grabbed a pipe and held it up. It wasn't as ideal as a sword, but better than nothing. He used it to block another hit from a mooger. He swung it, hitting the mooger in the head. It shook its head and stumbled backwards. Jayden continued to use his make shift sword to protect himself.

Kevin spin around, hacking at the moogers. "Stupid moogers," he said. They were interfering in the search. "Damn nighlocks," he said as he ruthlessly attacked them. They'd taken Antonio; he knew it. "You took him!" he said as he slashed another across the chest.

He felt angry with the nighlocks. They'd taken Antonio when he was already injured and scared and were doing who knows what to him. "It's not right," he said destroying more. He looked and saw Jayden was knocking them out with a metal pipe. He smirked. Even without a morpher Jayden was still an amazing fighter.

A mooger snuck up behind Kevin and got him across the back. "Ahh!" the blue ranger cried out in pain. He spun around and struck it down before it could react.

Lauren ducked as a mooger tried to decapitate her. She kicked it in the chest, then slashed it with her spin sword. She stumbled back as a mooger punched her in the stomach. _At least Bugzoid isn't here,_ she thought as she blocked a mooger sword. _We'd have no chance of defeating him without Antonio. _She destroyed another.

"Behind you!" Mia shouted. She quickly took down a mooger who had tried to sneak up on Lauren from behind.

"Thanks," Lauren said, destroying another.

"No problem," Mia said swinging her sword. She ducked and moved away from Lauren, drawing several moogers with her. _As if we didn't have enough going on lately without these creeps adding to it._ Mia jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding losing an arm. She swung her sword, destroying another mooger. She looked up and saw Mike and Emily arriving. _Bout time,_ she thought.

The green and yellow rangers quickly morphed and joined the fight. Emily ran to help Mia, drawing more moogers away. "Nighlocks," she growled. She funneled some of her own anger for Mike's comments earlier. She slashed her sword, taking down several in a single blow. _Take my friend,_ she thought. _I'll show you._

Mike ran to help Lauren. He round-housed a nighlock in the head. He slashed another across the chest with his sword. "Where's Kevin?" he asked her.

"He and Jayden are dealing with the same problem by the docks," Laure replied blocking another blow.

"But Jayden still doesn't have his samuraizer."

"Like that'll really stop him," Lauren said.

"Touché." Mike blocked another blow. He around, taking several out at once. "Take that," he said kicking one backwards. As he destroyed the last few close to him he looked around. Mia and Emily had defeated the moogers near them, as had Lauren. They all de-morphed. Lauren's samuraizer went off.

"Kevin?" she asked answering. "Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah," he said. "Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah. We took care of the problem."

"What's with the random attack?" he asked her.

"I don't know. An attack isn't unusual, but in the places we happened to be?"

"You think it means something?"

"Like what?"

"Maybe we're getting close to finding him and they want us to get away."

"Maybe," Lauren said. "Just keep looking, but be back at the house before dark."

"Got it," he said before hanging up.

Lauren tuned back to the others. "Kevin thinks that maybe we're close to finding Antonio."

"Why?" Mike asked.

"Because of the moogers. If we're getting close the nighlocks would want to drive us away."

"Then we're on the right track," Emily said. "He must be in a warehouse then."

"Come on," Mia said. "If we keep looking we might get even closer."

Lauren nodded, new hope rising inside of her. "Lets go." They divided into their respective pairs and walked in opposite directions, resuming their search. "Hold on Antonio," Lauren whispered. "We're coming."

Octoroo watched all of this from a gap. He smiled when the female red ranger told the others of the blue ranger's idea. "Oo aa oo, very good," he said. "With them distracted we'll be able to start on my plan." This made him a smile even more. "Oo aa oo. Master Xandred will be pleased. Once we do this, we'll be able to destroy those samurai once and for all, and the gold ranger will be to weak to live."

He continued to smile. "Oo aa oo. That gold ranger has caused nothing but trouble for me since he showed up. He makes them more powerful. He liked to give the rangers power ups, lets see how he liked giving a nighlock a power boost." He laughed evilly and went to Master Xandred's junk to prepare the next part of his plan.

dum, dum, dummmm!


	15. Escape?

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Fifteen: Escape?

A/N: Hello thanks to everyone who reviewed! Don't forget to review this chapter! Thanks!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio was vey cold. It had rained yesterday, so on the good side the nighlocks had to retreat into the netherworld. On the bad side, he'd had no shelter and was still wet and cold. He shivered. He wished he was closer to the fire the nighlocks had relit. He coughed. His already dry throat felt it was torn apart.

His stomach growled weakly in hunger. He rested his head back on the tree. His head still hurt and his hunger and throat were not helping. He tried to move his arms. His shoulders felt sore from being tied up the way they were for three days. He saw Octoroo appear through a gap. "Oo aa oo," he said. "Hello Gold Ranger."

Antonio gulped. The could only be one reason why Octoroo was here. Bugzoid smiled. "Are we finally going to start this?" he asked.

"Oo aa oo, we are," Octoroo answered. "Untie him and bring him over here." The moogers cut the ropes holding Antonio to the tree. He felt a moment of relief, right before they pulled his arms behind his back and tied his wrists; then dragged him over to Octoroo, dumping him at the nighlock's feet. "Oo aa oo, sit up Gold Ranger."

Antonio grunted with the effort. He was still gagged and couldn't say anything. His sore muscles protested as he sat up on his knees. "Good," Octoroo said. Antonio noticed how the nighlocks didn't hold him down. _This could be my only chance._ He readied himself. _One, two, three!_ He jumped to his feet and stumbled as he ran from his prison. He ran through the trees, the sound of moogers chasing him not far behind.

He didn't dare look back as he ran as fast as his could. It wasn't very fast in his weakened state, but it was better than nothing. "Mm!" he yelled as he tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. He rolled into a ditch filled with a couple inches of water. He looked up at the moogers, coming towards him still. _The water will delay them,_ he thought as he pushed himself back to his feet. He knew he would never be able to climb the sides of the trench with his hands tied, so instead he ran through the murky water.

He could feel it seeping into his socks and shoes, but he didn't care. He stumbled again and fell into the water. He groaned. He had very little energy and strength left. _Keep going,_ he told himself. _You have to keep going. Keep running!_ He heaved himself to his feet and ran. He stumbled as he did. Soon the trench floor began to tilt upwards and a few minute later he was no longer running in water. He was still in the trench though.

He could hear the moogers in the forest around him. His heart raced as his legs became weaker. _I'll crawl if I have to,_ he thought. He stopped suddenly as he reached the end of the ditch. He stood facing a wall of dirt reaching several feet above his head. He looked around. The moogers surrounded the trench, they carried bows, arrows trained directly on him. He put his back to the dirt wall. _No,_ he thought weakly. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. He leaned against the wall.

He closed his eyes in defeat. A few moogers jumped into the trench and grabbed him by the arms. They hauled him to his feet and led him over to the side. More moogers reached down and pulled him, none to gently, up out of the trench. They kept a tight hold on him as the rest of the moogers joined them and they led Antonio back.

Antonio felt like he wanted to collapse he was so tired. He stumbled as he walked, the tight grip the moogers had on him keeping him from falling on his face. Every so often they would push him along, causing him to stumble more. One time they did this the moogers holding his arms let him fall on his face. He groaned in pain. They grabbed him and pulled him up again, keeping him moving along.

When they arrived back at the prison the moogers dumped Antonio at Octoroo's feet. "Tie up his legs," Bugzoid said, the moogers complied, tying Antonio's ankles together.

"Oo aa oo," Octoroo said as Antonio struggled to sit up. "You thought you could get away." When Antonio had managed to sit on his knees the nighlock backhanded him.

"Mmm!" Antonio cried. He fell onto his side.

Octoroo pointed his staff at Antonio. A second later the gold ranger felt electricity shoot through his body. He screamed in pain and twisted in the ground. He was relieved when it finally stopped. He took a shaky breath. A second later the pain returned. His back arched and he kicked his feet as the electric current coursed through his body. He screamed in absolute pain. It stopped again.

This process repeated several times until Antonio was put of breath and permanently in pain. He rested his head on the ground, blackness threatening the edges of his vision. "Oo aa oo," Otctoroo said. "Now I think we've made a point about escaping. Do you understand?" Antonio made no recognition. Octoroo electrocuted him again. "Do you understand?"

Antonio nodded. He was weak, tired, and hungry. He wished his friends would find him soon. "Oo aa oo. Now that we have an understanding it's time to start my plan."

Antonio groaned. _Help,_ he thought.


	16. Good-bye Speed

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Sixteen: Goodbye Speed

A/N: hey guys! So now things a really getting there! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please, please, please, please, please review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The moogers pulled Antonio up so he was on his knees and held him there. "Oo aa oo, hold him steady," Octoroo said. He pointed his staff at Antonio. The gold ranger braced himself for pain, but felt none. Instead, he found Octoroo swinging the point of it in a circle, walking around Antonio and saying something he couldn't understand. A black mist began to form around Antonio.

It began to constrict him, wrapping around his torso, up his chest and neck. It began to tighten and he felt it get harder to breathe. He felt an extremely creepy feeling settle over him as it did. It felt like it was pouring into his pores. He began to shake. He wanted it to end. Then, strangely enough it began to warp around his head. He craned his neck as it did. He shook his head from side to side.

Octoroo stopped in front of Antonio as the mist turned from black to gold. He then took a talisman and put it around Antonio's neck. The talisman glowed black, turning the mist back to its original color. The mist then began to seep into the talisman. As it did, Antonio felt as if someone was peeling wax off of him. Then, when it finished, Octoroo took the talisman from the gold ranger's neck.

He turned around and handed it Bugzoid, who put it on immediately. "Hahaha," he laughed.

Antonio wanted to ask what Octoroo had done to him.

"Oo aa oo," Octoroo said in answer to the questioning look Antonio had. "I took you speedy ability and transferred it to Bugzoid." Antonio shook his head. "Oo aa oo, you don't believe me?" Antonio shook his head more, ignoring the sluggish feeling he had. He didn't want to believe it. "Show him."

Bugzoid smiled and ran at Antonio. Less than five sends later Antonio found himself being pinned to the tree he had originally been tied to, by his neck. He whimpered in pain and fear. Bugzoid smiled. "Impressed?" he threw Antonio to the ground. Before the gold ranger could hit it though, he ran over and caught him, slamming him into another tree. Antonio cried out in pain. Bugzoid smiled more.

He repeated this for what felt like ever. Running around the clearing slamming Antonio into tree after tree. At one point he held Antonio against the tree and punched him with his remaining arms. They moved so fast Antonio could only feel them. "Oo aa oo," Octoroo said. "That's enough."

"Fine," Bugzoid said throwing Antonio back. He skidded along the ground, his head inches from the fire when he stopped.

"Oo aa oo, go back to the Netherworld and rest. You need to let your new powers settle." Bugzoid nodded and disappeared through a gap. "Tie him up again," Octoroo said nodding at Antonio. The moogers grabbed Antonio and dragged him over to the tree, then tied him to it, leaving his arms and legs the way they were. The moogers took up their guard positions as Octoroo left through a gap.

Left alone with the moogers, Antonio let his head fall onto his chest. He was weak and tired. His head pounded in pain. _Where are they?_ he wondered before unconsciousness finally took him.


	17. That's It!

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Seventeen: That's it!

A/N: Hello people! Here's the next chapter! Please review! I find it very encouraging!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The rangers sat in the living room feeling miserable. Their previous day of searching had turned up nothing. "I thought we were so close," Lauren said shaking her head.

"What now?" Mia asked.

"We keep searching," Emily said.

Lauren sighed. "I...I'm afraid...we can't. We've put off training for days now. We can't do that. Antonio would want us to stay focused on our mission. We can look, but we need to try and get back to our normal routine."

"We can't stop," Jayden said. "Antonio's counting on us! We have to save him!"

"Why do you care?!" Kevin asked sharply. "He would never want you to save him. He's terrified to be near you!"

Jayden glared at him. "Look, I know you're all mad at me and fustrated with the situation, but I'm trying."

"No..." Mike began.

"Yes, I am!" Jayden said interrupting him.

"Stop!" Emily said crying. "Stop! Can't you see what's happening? We're being torn apart."

"She's right," Mia said. "You boys need to stop arguing. We need to stay united if were going to find Antonio."

The three rangers nodded. "We're sorry Em," Mike said gently. "You're right. We need to stop. Antonio would never want us to fight each other like this." She nodded and leaned into Mike's shoulder, wiping her eyes.

"There has to be somewhere else to look," Lauren said.

"He could be anywhere," Kevin said. "It's been days. He could be far from the city by now."

"You guys isn't think they took him to..." Mia didn't even have to finish.

"No," Lauren said shaking her head. "They didn't. I'm sure of it," she lied.

"The where is he?" Mike asked.

No one said anything. Jayden put his head in his hands. _You went fishing to get away..._ He frowned. Something about that sounded familiar. He gasped.

Antonio laughed as he and Jayden walked though the woods. "Come on Amigo," he said. "This'll be lots of fun."

"Where are we even going?" Jayden asked.

"You'll see," Antonio said. "It's a secret."

"The why are you taking me along?" Jayden asked.

"Because you're my best friend silly," Antonio said.

Jayden smiled at the memory. "That's it!" he said suddenly.

"What's it?" Kevin asked.

"I think I know where Antonio went the day he went missing."

"How?" Mia asked.

"It's a fishing spot. I don't think of it before, but I remember now."

"Take us there," Lauren said as the rangers stood up. The gap sensor the chose this moment to go off. "Really?" Lauren asked.

"If its Bugzoid then we'll need all of us," Mike said.

"But Antonio..." Emily said.

"He'll have to wait," Lauren said. "Lets go." The rangers, minus Jayden, followed her out.

"I can go," Jayden said to Ji.

"But if he's being guarded..." Ji said. Jayden still didn't that've his samuraizer.

"I know you took my morpher because I deserved it," Jayden said. "But Antonio's been missing for four days. He can't wait any longer. Please, Ji. I'm begging you. He's my best friend."

Ji looked at Jayden's pleading face. He sighed. "You'll give it back as soon as you and Antonio return."

"Yes," Jayden said nodding earnestly.

"Don't make me regret this," Ji said, he took Jayden's samuraizer form where he'd hidden it and tossed it to the red ranger.

"I won't. I promise. Thank you," Jayden said running out of the house. "Hold on Antonio. I'm coming."

I know it's short, but...still.


	18. The Search and Battle Continues

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Eighteen: The Search and Battle Resume

A/N: Welcome back! Here's the next chapter! Please, please, please, review! Pretty please!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

The rangers arrived on the serene of the battle. They found moogers chasing people away. "Samuraizers!"

"GO, GO SAMURAI!" they shouted morphing. "Rangers together, samurai forever!"

They attacked the moogers.

Jayden ran through the forest. He followed a path until he came to a fork. He took the left one, following it. He stopped at a boulder. He looked at it then felt it with his hands. _There!_ he thought. A carving of a fish was on it. He walked away from the path moving as fast as he could without falling on his face.

After about ten minutes he came to a stream. He smiled. "I was right."

Lauren defeated the last mooger and looked around. She felt something hit her with a lot of force and she stumbled backwards. Pain shot through her entire body. "What..." She fell back on the ground.

"Lauren!" Mia said. She came to her friend's aid. Whatever had attacked Lauren stopped and a second later attacked Mia. It knocked her off her feet.

"Mi..." Mike didn't even have time to finish before it hit him. "Ah!" he yelled. He tried to swing his sword, but it hit only air.

"What's going..." Emily shriek when she felt something her. She felt it punch her arms multiple times. She tried to move them, but the blows were restraining her.

"Em..." Kevin was knocked off his feet. Before he could hit the ground it came back and knocked him to the other side. This continued before whatever it was ran back to Lauren who was trying to get to her feet. It knocked her back to the ground.

It continued to knock the rangers around before stopping in the middle of them. Emily and Mia gasped. Kevin and Mike glowered.

"Bugzoid," Lauren said angrily.

Jayden walked up to Antonio's fishing gear. He put his hand on the fishing poles and looked around. He took a step and his foot landed on something hard. He picked his foot up. He bent down and picked up Antonio's morpher. He looked around. _Where would they take him?_ he thought. _If he was knocked unconscious then they would have had to drag him._

He searched the area. He smiled when he found what he was looking for. The branches were broken, like they'd been pushed roughly aside. He studied the ground. There was blood on the broken pieces of wood. _This way,_ he thought walking slowly so as not to lose the trail.

Lauren gripped her sword as she pushed herself back to her feet. "Hahahaha," Bugzoid laughed. "What wrong rangers?" he asked. He disappeared as he ran at Mike. He knocked the green ranger to the ground, then returned to his original spot. "Too fast for ya?"

"We can take you," Kevin said. Bugzoid sneered and ran at the blue ranger. He grabbed Kevin by the throat and ran him into Lauren.

"Ahh..." Kevin said in pain. "Sorry Lauren."

"It's ok," she said pushing him off.

Bugzoid laughed. He ran at Mike, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along, literally, and running him into Emily. "Sorry Em," Mike said rolling off.

"It's ok," Emily said feeling as though she'd just be crushed.

Lauren took a breath. "How can...we defeat him..." Kevin asked.

Lauren shook her head. "If only...Antonio were here."

"Yeah," Kevin said. "He'd be able to take this guy."

Bugzoid laughed. "Looks like you're too weak without your gold ranger, surprising really."

"What?" Lauren asked.

"My extra speed is all thanks to him after all."

All the rangers narrowed their eyes. "You," Lauren whispered. "You took him!"

Jayden lost the trail a couple times, but managed to find it again. He stopped when he came to a ditch. He looked down and found that there was blood in it. He jumped down to looked at it. It was dried, but it still looked fresh. _Recent,_ he thought. He smiled. _I'm getting closer._ He climbed over the other side and continued though the forest.

He no longer had his trail to help, but he guessed they would be moving in a straight line. He walked quietly, afraid that if they heard him they would hurt Antonio. Jayden walked for a while. He wasn't sure how long. He stopped. Through the trees he could see part of a fire.

_A fire?_ he wondered. _Why a fire?_ He walked as quiet as possible. As he got closer to the clearing he circled around it and climbed up in to a tree. He moved to a branch on the other side. He peered out into the clearing, trying not to gasp.

He could see Antonio. His best friend was tied to a tree. Jayden couldn't tell if he was alive or not though. He saw a couple dozen moogers guarding him. _Alright,_ he thought. _Let's do this._

"I didn't take him, I just held him. The moogers kidnapped him for me."

Lauren growled in anger. Kevin clenched his jaw. "You're so dead!" The rangers attacked him.

He laughed and ran at them. In a matter of seconds he had them all on the ground. "I must say I'm surprised you never found him."

"We will," Emily said getting to her feet.

Bugzoid laughed again. He grabbed a Emily's arm and swung her around and into Mia. "Not any more."

"What?" Mia asked as Emily got off of her.

"Your friend is dead! I destroyed him." Lauren felt sick. _No,_ she thought. _It can't be._ "He thought he was so tough, but in the end he begged for mercy."

Kevin felt pure hatred rise in him. "No!" he said. "You lie!"

Bugzoid looked at the blue ranger icily. "Yeah," Mike said, his words the previous day feeling silly, "you're a liar. He's alive."

"We know he is," Mia said. The rangers all got to their feet.

Bugzoid smiled. "You're delusional. You really believe he still breathes?"

"We have to," Lauren said. "That's what being a team is all about. It's what being friends is all about." With that the rangers attacked him.

Jayden morphed and jumped out of the trees. The moogers noticed him immediately. "Let him go!" the red ranger shouted. Antonio lifted his head up. His eyes widened in fear and surprise. The moogers growled and attacked him. He drew his sword and blocked their attacks. He swung his spin sword taking several of them out. He kicked one away, then destroyed another.

He ducked as one of them swung its sword at his head. He looked up and saw a couple of them cut Antonio free of the tree. They grabbed the gold ranger's arms and dragged him away. "No,"Jayden said. He was forced to turn his attention back to the moogers attacking him.

He backed up a few steps. He swung his sword, his naturals instinct helping him with the fray. He punched one in the head, stunning it. He slashed at them, never stopping. He destroyed two more in a single blow. Several of them ran off, following the ones that had taken Antonio. Jayden destroyed the last few and ran after them, determined to save his friend.

Bugzoid laughed as the rangers meager attempts failed one after another. Mike tried his forest spear, but Bugzoid simply grabbed it and used it to swing Mike into Kevin. The blue ranger pushed Mike off and tired his hydro bow. He shot at the nighlock, but Bugzoid moved so fast the blasts didn't even hit him.

Kevin growled in frustration. Emily used her earth splicer. She threw it at Bugzoid. He simply ran to the side, easily avoiding it. He laughed and ran at the rangers, knocking them to the ground. "Pathetic rangers. Even without your pathetic gold ranger you're weak."

"Antonio isn't pathetic!" Lauren said.

"Doesn't matter!" Bugzoid said. "He's dead, and you will be too in a minute." Lauren braced herself, knowing she wouldn't be able to move in time. The gaps began to glow red. Bugzoid growled. "I'll be back rangers."

He disappeared through a gap. The rangers de-morphed. "Wonder why he left?" Mia asked.

"Who cares?" Mike asked wincing as he got up. "He almost made mince meat out if us."

"Lets get back so Jayden can show us where Antonio went fishing," Lauren said leading the rangers back to the house.

Jayden ran through the forest. "Antonio!" he shouted. "Antonio!"

Antonio could hear Jayden. He squirmed around, new hope grabbing hold of him. "Mmmm!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Mmmmmmm!"

Jayden stopped and listened. "Antonio!" he said following the sound if the strained shouts.

One of the moogers pushed Antonio onto the ground. Two more held him down. It touched its sword to the back of his neck, then raised its sword above him. Antonio shut his eyes...

Jayden burst through the trees, he destroyed the mooger holding the sword. Stepping carefully over Antonio he attacked the remaining ones. He slashed them across the chest, defeating them. He smiled, sheathing his sword and de-morphing. He ran over to Antonio. "Antonio!" The gold ranger opened his eyes.

He looked at Jayden and tried to crawl away. Jayden stopped in his tracks. "Antonio," he said quietly. "I just want to untie you. Will you let me do that?" Antonio thought for a moment then nodded. "Ok," Jayden said. He walked over slowly and helped Antonio sit up. He then took out the gag in his mouth. Then he set about untying the ropes.

He freed Antonio's arms first, then his feet. Antonio rubbed his wrists glad the ropes were finally gone. "The others," he whispered.

"What?" Jayden asked gently sitting down across from him.

"The others," Antonio said with a bit more confidence. "Are they ok?"

Jayden smiled. "Last time I saw them yes."

"Bugzoid," Antonio whispered, stroking his neck here the talisman had been.

"What about him?" Jayden asked.

"My speed," Antonio whispered. "They can't fight him."

"What?" Jayden asked putting his hand on the gold ranger's arm. Antonio looked up at him alarmed. Jayden moved his hand. "Sorry." He studied Antonio. The gold ranger looked hungry. There was a long gash on the side of his face covered in dry blood. The bruises Jayden had given him now matched several other newer looking ones. His face was dirty and covered in smaller scratches. Jayden glanced down at Antonio's wrists and saw they were rubbed raw from there the ropes had been and starting to bruise. He looked around. "Antonio," he said gently. "Antonio we need to go back. Everyone is worried." Antonio nodded, wanting to get home.

Jayden stood up. He looked at Antonio who was struggling to stand. "Can I help you?" Jayden asked. Antonio looked doubtful, but reason won out and he let Jayden pull him to his feet. He leaned heavily on the red ranger. Jayden put Antonio's arm around his shoulder and half carried him. He looked around, then decided on a direction and the two of them set off.


	19. Shocked and Shelter

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Nineteen: Shocked and Shelter

A/N: hey guys! So there's some nice friendship fluff in this chapter! I know, hard t believe right? Just read and you'll find out, and then review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

When the rangers got back to the Shiba House they were shocked to discover that Jayden wasn't there. "Ji, where's Jayden?" Lauren asked.

"He's gone," Ji said.

"Gone? Gone where?" Mike asked.

"To find Antonio."

"Alone?!" Kevin asked. "With no help or protection?"

"He has his samuraizer."

"He does?" Mia asked.

Ji nodded. "Yes. I gave it to him is he could go find Antonio."

Lauren sighed. "I hope they're ok."

Jayden struggled through the woods with Antonio. He looked up at the sky. It looked like it was going to rain. He looked at Antonio who looked like he was barely conscious. _We need shelter,_ he thought. He stopped in a place where some bushes grew thick. "Antonio," he said gently. The gold ranger looked at him wearily. "We need to find shelter before it rains. I need you to hide in those bushes."

Antonio looked doubtful. "I'll come back," Jayden promised. "But I can find it faster with just me."

Antonio thought about it, but eventually nodded. Jayden smiled and helped him lay on the ground. Antonio scooted himself under the bushes. Jayden checked to make sure he was hidden, then handed the gold ranger his morpher. "Here," he said. "Take this just in case. Call me if you need help." Antonio accepted his morpher and nodded.

Jayden set off through the forest searching for something that could shelter them both, or at least Antonio. He looked everywhere. After about ten minutes he found a small cave. It was only a few yards deep, two yards wide, and a yard tall at its highest point. It was tent like, slanting into the ground. _This will do,_ he thought nodding. He felt a few drops hit him on the head.

He went back to Antonio. "Antonio," he said. "Antonio I found some shelter." He jumped as a hand grabbed his ankle. He smiled. "A simple vocal reply would suffice." Antonio wiggled out of his hiding spot. He smiled at Jayden. The red ranger was shocked. It wasn't forced or fake. It was a small, genuine Antonio smile. He smiled back. "Come on," he said.

He lifted Antonio up again and the two of them made their way to the cave. Jayden let Antonio go in first. They'd just settled down when the down pour began. Jayden nodded. "Ok shelter was definitely a good idea," he decided. He looked over at Antonio who sitting as far from Jayden as the cave allowed, knees pulled up to his chest.

Jayden sat with his back against the wall. He looked out at the forest. "When this stops we'll be able to go home," he said.

It was a few hours later that Jayden noticed large puddles forming just in front of their small shelter. He looked over at Antonio. "Are you thirsty?" he asked. The gold ranger nodded. Jayden crawled over to the puddles and cupped his hands together. He managed to scoop up a little bit of water and sipped it. It had a little dirt in it, but none the less tasted fine.

"Come drink some," he said to Antonio, backing up a little bit. Antonio moved slowly, his muscles to weak to move any faster. He crawled up to the puddles and cupped his hands together. He scooped a little bit of water out and sipped it. It wasn't a lot, but after not drinking anything for four days, he was glad to have it. Water had never tasted so fresh or wonderful.

He scooped more up and slurped it thirstily. He loved over at Jayden, realizing he might want more too. The red ranger shook his head. "I'm not thirsty. You go ahead and drink it." Antonio nodded gratefully and continued to drink until he could no longer scoop it up with his hands. He frowned. He was still thirsty, but he probably wasn't in danger of dying of dehydration anymore.

He retreated back to his side of the cave, then resumed tracing the floor with his finger. He wanted to be in the Shiba House with Lauren. Not sitting in a cave with Jayden. He glanced up at the red ranger who was staring out at the rain. Antonio was still scared of Jayden, but he was also extremely grateful to the red ranger for saving him.

More hours later Jayden felt tired. He yawned. _Must be getting late,_ he thought. His samuraizer went off. "Hello," he said answering it.

"Jayden," Lauren said relieved. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I have Antonio don't worry."

"You do? Is he ok?"

"He looks a little banged up, and hungry, but alive."

"Let me talk to him."

Jayden smiled and scooted closer to Antonio holding his samuraizer out. "She wants to talk to you."

Antonio took it cautiously. "Lauren," he said.

"Antonio! I'm so relieved."

He smiled. "Me too. I was worried about you."

"Tonio," she sighed. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Just focus on yourself. Promise me."

"I promise, mí amor. Té amo."

"I love you too," Lauren said. Antonio handed Jayden his samuraizer. "Jayden," Lauren said. "Don't lose him again."

"I promise," he said. "We'll head back when the rain stops."

"Ok. Stay safe."

"Always." He hung up. He looked at Antonio who was drawing with his finger on the cave floor again. The gold ranger look slightly happier. Jayden smiled. Talking to Lauren had really helped.

A couple hours later Antonio was lying down sleeping. He rolled over and shivered. Jayden woke out of his restless sleep and saw Antonio shivering. With the rain still coming down and it was getting a little chilly. Jayden shrugged his sweater off. He crawled over and draped it over Antonio. The gold ranger hugged it to his body in his sleep. Jayden smiled and went back to his side.

An hour later Antonio woke with a start. He took a few deep breaths. (I'm safe...well...the nighlocks don't have me.) He could just make out Jayden in the darkness. He shivered and realized Jayden's sweater was on his shoulders. He frowned. Jayden would be cold without it. He crawled over to the red ranger. He shook him gently, feeling Jayden's ice cold skin. Jayden opened his eyes. "Antonio," he whispered. "Is everything alright?"

Antonio shook his head. "I don't want you to be cold," he said taking Jayden's sweater off his shoulders.

"Antonio, you need it more than me," Jayden said refusing to accept it.

"No...I...d...don't," Antonio said weakly.

Jayden sighed. Antonio need to sleep, but he refused to listen to reason. "How about we share it," he suggested.

Antonio thought about it. He didn't want to be next to Jayden all night, but the desire not to be cold won out. He laid down next to Jayden, putting half the sweater on him. Jayden made sure too keep some space between them, but it was hard to do.

After a few minutes Antonio started shaking. He scooted closer to Jayden, seeking warmth. Jayden smiled and wrapped his arms around Antonio. He felt the gold ranger stop shaking after awhile and Jayden rested his head on the ground. He closed his eyes and the two of the slept soundly.

A/N: awwww. Please review!


	20. The Final Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty: The Final Battle

A/N: Hello to all! So stuffs about to get intense here. (Like it isn't already.) As always please read and review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio woke up to sunshine the next morning. He yawned and crawled out of the cave. Everything looked so bright after four days of being held captive. He heard a noise off to his right. He looked back at Jayden who was sleeping soundly. He walked quietly towards the noise. He stumbled a little, still not fully back to his usual strength. He stayed as quiet as he could, trying not to spook whatever it was.

He started to get nervous when the noise led him back the way he and Jayden had come last night. He hadn't been very conscious, but he recognized the bushes he'd hidden under. He hesitated, debating on going back. The noise returned. It sounded like footsteps.

"Antonio!" he could hear Jayden shouting from somewhere. "Antonio! Where are you?!" He sounded very worried. Antonio hesitated, then followed the noise. He walked for what felt like a long time before exiting the trees. He looked around. He was standing on a cliff. He walked the roughly thirty feet to the edge. He looked left and right, the cliff stretched for what looked like miles. He looked down over the edge. He backed up, gulping when he saw the pointed rocks one hundred feet down.

"Hehehehe." His stomach dropped at the sound of evil laughter behind him. He turned around slowly. "Hello Gold Ranger," Bugzoid said. Antonio gulped. He listened for Jayden, hoping the red ranger was near by, but he heard nothing. He cursed himself. _It __was a trap! _

"What...what do you want?" Antonio asked trying to hide his fear.

"Not much. Just your death." Antonio gulped. "You may have escaped our clutches, but I can still get rid of you. And after you, your friends are next."

"If you want me...come and get me!" He pulled his morpher out of his pocket. "SAMRURAI MORPHER, GOLD POWER!" He morphed and stood facing the monster. "I won't go down without a fight."

Bugzoid smiled and ran at Antonio, knocking him to the side. "Won't be much of a fight."

Antonio struggled to his feet. His already bruised ribs felt like they were squeezing his lungs. He looked at Bugzoid. "That...the best you...got..."

Bugzoid ran at him again, knocking him to the ground. He laughed. "Puny ranger. You think you can defeat me?"

"He can't, but maybe I can!" Jayden said running out of the trees.

"Jayden..." Antonio said. He climbed back to his feet.

Jayden was relieved to see Antonio alive, but he could've done without the nighlock showing up. Bugzoid changed targets and ran at Jayden. He knocked the red ranger to the ground, putting a foot on him. Jayden squirmed and tried to free himself, but he couldn't. Bugzoid laughed.

"Hmm...lets see. First you, then the gold ranger, and then the rest of your tiresome friends." Jayden tensed.

Antonio grabbed his sword and ran at the monster. It wasn't fast, or even running, just more of a lopsided hobble. He slashed Bugzoid across the back. The monster screamed in pain and jumped to the side. He growled in frustration, and punched Antonio almost thirty times in the gut in the blink of an eye.

The gold ranger fell on the ground in pain. He struggled to take a full breath as he tried to climb to his feet. Jayden jumped to his feet and swung his spun sword at Bugzoid. Bugzoid ran around Jayden and knocked him on his face. The red ranger rolled to the side and jumped to his feet. He ran at Bugzoid, swinging his sword. The nighlock had turned to Antonio. Jayden slashed him across the back. Next thing he knew he flew backwards. He hit the ground and groaned in pain.

Antonio saw Jayden get hit. He picked himself up, but Bugzoid grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "Haha, end of the line, Gold Ranger." Antonio's feet kicked the empty air. Jayden got up and ran at Bugzoid, sword at the ready.

"Put him down!" Jayden shouted signing his sword. He didn't see Bugzoid move, and Antonio didn't even feel it. The gold ranger felt pain shoot down his back. He screamed in pain. Jayden faltered and Bugzoid threw Antonio on top of him.

"Antonio!" Jayden said squirming out from under him. "Are you ok?"

Antonio shivered. He felt blood running down his back. Jayden gulped when he saw the long gash down Antonio's back caused by his spin sword. He could already feel Lauren's hands around his neck. "How do we defeat him?"

"He's too fast..."

"Do you have enough strength to move fast?"

"No... They took my speed..."

"Wait what?!"

"They...the talisman... The talisman!" He suddenly felt rejuvenated by his idea. "Jayden... we have to destroy the talisman around his neck."

The two of them rolled away from each other as Bugzoid came towards them. He picked Antonio up and threw him several yards. Jayden saw the talisman flash against the monster's neck. _How am I going to get close enough?_ He picked up his spin sword and ran at the monster. He swung it at Bugzoid. The monster turned and punched Jayden many times in the gut. Jayden fell back onto the ground. Bugzoid put his foot on Jayden's arm.

"Ahhhh!" Jayden screamed as Bugzoid increased the pressure. He heard some thing crack. He de-morphed.

"Hahaha, looks like your the first to go, Red Ranger," he laughed.

Jayden braced himself. Antonio swung his barracuda blade hitting Bugzoid. The nighlock stumbled away, releasing Jayden's arm. The red ranger cradled it against his body. Antonio slashed the monster again, and again. He cut though the string holding the talisman. It fell to the ground as Bugzoid stumbled back. Jayden momentarily forgot about his arm and dove for it. He grabbed it and moved away.

"Antonio catch!" he shouted.

Antonio caught the talisman in his hand. He could feel the evil pulsing through it. He let it dangle by the chain, looking at it. He remembered Octoroo placing it around his neck after torturing him. He grew angrier as he remembered the long hours he spent tied up, starving and thirsty. _You wanna torment me, you don't know what's coming._ He held the wooden part of the talisman in his hand and stabbed his barracuda blade into it.

"No!" Bugzoid said.

Antonio twisted his sword, shattering the talisman into a million pieces. Black mist began wrapping itself around Antonio's arm and down his body. It compressed against his chest, choking him. He struggled to breathe as the mist turned to gold, before disappearing. He fell onto his hands and knees, gasping for air.

"Antonio!" Jayden said running up to him. "Are you ok?"

Antonio nodded as stood up. He felt better. Stronger. He smiled and ran at Bugzoid, disappearing form Jayden's view. The red ranger smiled. _He's back._

Antonio hit Bugzoid again, and again, and again, and again all in a matter of seconds. He felt the adrenaline racing through him as his body did what came naturally. The practiced moves and retaliations began to feel like reactions as his brain stopped controlling and let his body react to the attacks. He blocked a punch and hit the nighlock in the face. "That's for hurting me." He spun around a kicked him backwards, then followed with several punches and a blow from his sword. "And that's for hurting my friends."

His chest began to feel a small strain at keeping him able to move this fast. It was fast even for him. He ignored it and continued his attack. Bugzoid ran around, trying to get behind Antonio. The gold ranger simply ran right behind him. Bugzoid turned toward at he cliff edge, then turned at the last minute. Antonio turned, his feet barely keeping him from falling over the edge.

Bugzoid stopped and knocked Antonio to the side. He looked around, then he saw Jayden and smiled. He ran at the red ranger. Antonio got up. He saw Bugzoid run at Jayden. He tired to stop him, but the nighlock got to the fire samurai first and grabbed him. He to sped near the edge of the cliff, holding Jayden over the edge. Antonio stopped in his tracks, falling on his face.

"Game over Gold Ranger," Bugzoid said. "Ether give up, or I let go. Your choice." Antonio looked at Jayden. Jayden was squiring around. He tried to kick or punch Bugzoid, but he couldn't reach. The rangers locked eyes. _Antonio,_ Jayden thought. _Don't give in. Please. Don't._ Antonio didn't know what to do.

It didn't matter that Jayden scared him. He still cared about him. He still didn't know if the feeling of friendship was mutual, but he knew he couldn't let Jayden die. _I can't give up though. If I do, he'll kill us and the other rangers. _He had an idea, but it was incredibly risky. He took a deep breath. He ran at Bugzoid, swinging his sword. He hit the nighlock in the chest, causing him to stumble and fall off the cliff.

He had let go of Jayden and the red ranger tried desperately to grab the cliff. When he didn't he closed his eyes. He felt something snag his hand. He looked up and saw Antonio holding him. He smiled. "I got you," Antonio said. "Don't worry." He pulled Jayden back up. The red ranger had never been so relived. He hugged Antonio. The gold ranger sat there rigid for a second, then hugged him back.

"You rangers are dead!" Bugzoid shouted growing back giant sized. They broke apart. Jayden looked at Antonio. I got this," Antonio said. Jayden nodded and ran to find cover in the trees so he wouldn't get in th way. This was Antonio's battle.

Antonio flipped open his morpher and texted the clawzord. He smiled when he saw it. "Lets do this." He jumped into the cockpit of the clawzord and spun the dial. "Claw battlezord south, ready!" The clawzord swung its double blade at Bugzoid. It hit the nighlock multiple times. Bugzoid blocked the last blow and hit the clawzord back. It stumbled backwards. Antonio stabilized it. "Come on buddy," he said. "Lets show him some gold power!" The clawzord hit Nugzoid again, but the monster jumped to the side and hit the clawzord again. He move towards it, hit it. and jumped again.

Antonio knew he had to think fast. He smiled._ That's it!_ He had the clawzord swing one of its swords, Haitian Bugzoid, then it spun around and hit Bugzoid from the other side. The nighlock stumbled away. "Lets finish this. Megablade, activate!" He took out his megablade. "Megablade activate! Double Katana Strike!" The clawzord swung both it's blades, destroying Bugzoid.

"Finally," Antonio said, almost collapsing with relief.

"Antonio that was amazing!" Jayden shouted after the battle running towards him.

Antonio de-morphed and smiled. "Thanks." He suddenly felt exhausted and aching. His pain shot through every part of his body. His vision went black and he dropped.


	21. Homeward Bound

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty-One: Homeward Bound

A/N: ok, so this is just a short...happier chapter compared to the others I guess. Please review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Jayden saw Antonio stumble and fall. He ran to catch him. He caught him before he hit the ground and let him down gently. He checked Antonio's pulse and was relieved to see he was alive. _Just tired,_ Jayden thought. He carefully picked Antonio up and put him on his back. He smiled. It was like he was giving him a horseback ride. He jumped a little settling Antonio comfortably on his back and started walking along towards home.

The clawzord followed them as they walked. It flew besides Jayden, nudging Antonio every new and then. "Let him sleep," Jayden said to the zord, slightly annoyed. "He's injured and exhausted, he needs to rest." The clawzord seemed to understand him, because it stopped. Jayden carried Antonio through the forest.

Once he found the trail it was easy going to follow it. "We'll be home soon Antonio. Don't worry," he said to his unconscious friend. He tried to pay attention to what was going on around him. He wouldn't put it past the nighlocks to ambush them. As he walked he thought back to the battle. He smiled. _Antonio was amazing. He defeated Bugzoid. I hope it helps him get past this._

He sighed. _I suppose I had to come to it eventually. It's obvious they tortured him. He has cuts and bruises...who knows what else they did._ He wondered what other nighlocks were involved in this._ Bugzoid didn't seem smart enough to carry this out by himself. I'm willing to bet Octoroo was involved somehow. _He pondered this thought._ If they used a talisman to take his speed, then it was probably Octoroo. He's pretty good with spells and all that._

Jayden felt relieved when he saw a break in the forest. "We're almost there," he said. Antonio was still unconscious. He stirred a little on Jayden's back.

"Hmm...Jayden...YO...No puedo decir...Simplemente no puedo," he mumbled. Jayden frowned. He didn't udnertsand Spanish, but he'd heard his name. "Didi it... el was herido no pudo defenderse. Sólo que no pude..."

"If you're going to talk, you could at least use English," Jayden said.

Jayden felt beyond relief when he saw the gates of the Shiba House. He knew once they were inside Antonio would be safe. The sun was setting. It had been just over five days since the others had seen Antonio. Lauren was going to be all over him. Jayden smiled. He walked through the gate.

Lauren was watching the gate. She willed Jayden to walk through with Antonio. She'd tried to call him multiple times, but he wasn't answering. _Déjà vu._ She sighed and shifted her weight. "Where are they?" she asked aloud.

"Who knows," Kevin answered walking up. "You should come inside. I'm sure Jayden will look after Antonio."

"Are you sure? What if the nighlocks got him too?"

"Then I think we'll be looking for two people."

Lauren smiled. "I'll be in, in a few minutes."

"Ok." Kevin went back in. He walked past the living room where the others were. He was in the hall when he heard Lauren shout.

"Jayden!" He immediately turned around and ran outside. He smiled with relief. He saw Jayden carrying Antonio on his back. He ran over and helped get the gold ranger down. He supported their unconscious friend as the others came out. Mike ran over to help Kevin.

"Thank goodness you guys are safe," Lauren said hugging Jayden.

He smiled. "We're you getting worried?"

"Yes. You look tired, what happened?"

"Long story," he said. "You should probably get Antonio inside. He needs of be checked out."

"Right," Lauren said. She nodded to Kevin and Mike who took Antonio into the house. Jayden was happy. Antonio was safe now. Emily and Mia helped him into the house, sensing he was exhausted.


	22. Awake

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty-Two: Awake

A/N: Greetings! I brings another chapter for your reading enjoyment. Congratulations to Miss DJ Classy B for being the 100th reviewer! Seriously, you guys have no idea how happy it made me to get over 100 reviews! Please keep reviewing!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio opened his eyes blinking at the darkness. He sat up and looked around. _Where...what..._ He couldn't see every well, but he could tell he was in the Shiba House. _How did I get here?_ Pain shot through his skull. He put his hand to his head, groaning quietly. He looked at his hand. Both his wrists were wrapped in bandages.

He touched his hand to his face and felt stitches. He took a deep breath and felt a pulling pain in his back. His hand ran briefly down his ribs, feeling swelling.

"Antonio," someone said softly.

Antonio looked towards the door. "K...Kevin," he said. His voice sounded hoarse.

The blue ranger walked into the room. "How do you feel?"

"Pain..." Antonio mumbled.

"I can imagine," Kevin said mildly. "You were in pretty bad shape when you got back."

"I...Jayden. Is Jayden ok?"

"See for yourself," Kevin said pointing. Antonio looked over. Through the pale moonlight he could see Jayden's sleeping face on the bed next to him. "Lauren wasn't sure of we should have you two together, but Ji wanted you where he could keep an eye on you both."

"When did we get back?" Antonio asked turning back.

"Hours ago. Pretty close to sunset."

"How? Did you guys find us?"

Kevin shook his head. "No. Jayden carried you here." Antonio knew it was probably true. "Antonio, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Um..." Antonio thought back. "The moogers... Jayden... cave... Bugzoid...battle."

"Wait Bugzoid?" Keivn asked.

"Yeah," Antonio said. He sighed. "There...there as a cliff..."

"I know," Kevin said gently. "Jayden told us."

"He told you... Why did you ask me then?"

Kevin smiled. "Just wanted to see how much you remember."

Antonio rolled his eyes. "Thanks."

Kevin shrugged. "Mentor said you had a lot of head trauma and might have a little trouble remembering what happened."

"Head trauma." He nodded. "Yeah I can agree with that."

Kevin laughed quietly. "You should sleep."

"I can't."

Kevin sighed and grabbed a cup on the bedside table Antonio hadn't noticed before. "Here. Drink this." Antonio grabbed it shakily and took a small sip. He took a few more before Kevin took the cup away. The blue ranger helped him lay back down. "Good night Antonio," he said. "Try and sleep. You really need it."

"Ok," Antonio said doubtfully. He started to feel sluggish and drowsy. He blinked. _I think they drugged it..._ was his last thought before he was asleep again.

The next time he opened his eyes it was day. He squinted in the harsh sunlight. It made his pounding head even worse. He licked his dry lips. "Antonio!" He turned his head and saw Lauren and Emily standing int the doorway. Emily left and Lauren walked in. She kissed him gently on the forehead. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts," he whispered. He didn't want to talk any louder.

"I know baby," she said gently brushing hair out if his face.

Ji came on with Emily. "Lauren why don't you and Emily go eat."

"But..."

"You can visit him later."

"Yes Ji," Lauren said, realizing arguing would do her no good. She kissed him again before leaving. Emily gave Antonio a small wave. Antonio raised his hand a little bit in return. She smiled and followed Lauren.

"How do you feel?" Ji asked helping Antonio sit up.

"My head hurts," Antonio said. He squinted more. "The light is too bright."

Ji closed the shades and the room got mercifully darker. "That better?"

"Loads. Thanks."

"Here," Ji handed him a glass of water. Antonio drank it in a few gulps. His stomach felt queasy afterwards, but it was worth it.

"What time is it?"

"Almost noon. You've been out for a while."

"And yet I still feel tired."

"That's just the concussion. Follow my finger." Antonio followed Ji's finger with his eyes. "You're border line brain damage at this point." Antonio smiled. "You need to rest. If I have to lock you in here, I will. Your original concussion hasn't even healed yet and you've added to the list."

"Am I really injured?"

"A few cracked ribs, possibly two broken ones, multiple concussions, a sprained arm, a cut on your face and your back, your wrists have a bad case of rope burn, and you're covered in bruises."

"That's not so bad."

"You've defiantly been worse. I think the concussion, as well as how dehydrated and underfed you are is what we should really worry about. The cut on your back will leave a scar." Antonio flinched. He remembered getting that.

"How long was I gone?"

"Four days completely, five days total. You and Jayden came back close to sunset yesterday."

"Is Jayden ok?"

Ji nodded. "His arm was cracked, but it will heal. It wasn't broken, so it doesn't hurt as much as it could."

"Here is he?"

"Don't worry. He's outside in the yard."

"Ok," Antonio said, wondering what Ji thought he was worrying about.

"Are you hungry?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah."

"I thought so. I'll have on of the others bring you something. Just rest. I think I'll have to lock you in the closet to get you fully recovered."

Antonio smiled. "I hope not."

Ji smiled and left. Antonio rested his head back on the pillow. He savored the silence.

A little while later Emily and Mia brought him some soup. "Ji says to eat slowly," Mia said.

Antonio nodded and dipped the spoon into the soup. He sipped it eagerly. He smiled and licked his lips. He hadn't eaten in five days, and he was starving. He ate his soup happily while Emily told him about what he's missed.

"We looked for you everywhere. We were all so worried," she said. "We missed you."

He smiled. "I missed you guys too. Especially you, Em."

She smiled and gave him a small push. "I'm sure you did."

"Do you remember who took you?" Mia asked.

Antonio was about to answer, then hesitated. "Octoroo," he said.

"What did he want? Bugzoid...he tried to tell us that you were dead."

"We didn't believe him though," Emily said quickly.

"I'm glad. They wanted my speed."

"Your speed? Why?"

"To make Bugzoid more powerful."

"That explains why he seemed faster," Emily said. "Do you remember what happened?"

She didn't need to elaborate. "No," he lied. "I don't remember. Everything's really foggy."

"Probably for the best," Mia said.

He could only nod and finished his soup. He handed the bowl to the pink ranger. "Gracias amigas. Tell Ji I said gracias to him too."

"Will do," Mia said.

"Glad your back Antonio," Emily said. "Maybe now everyone will sleep."

"I hope so."


	23. Jayden's Tale

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty-Three: Jayden's Tale

A/N:Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Sadly, I think there's only going to be a few more. So, please read and review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Jayden sat outside, staring out at the yard; his injured arm resting against his chest. Antonio had been unconscious since the battle. Jayden hoped he would wake up soon. He thought back to the previous night...

Ji told Kevin and Mike to take Antonio into the infirmary room. Jayden sat in the living room with the girls. Lauren tried questioning him on what happened. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Lair."

"I'm fine."

Kevin and Mike joined them. "Ji's taking care of him," Kevin said.

Jayden nodded. "Good."

"He looks pretty beat up," Mike said.

"What happened?" Lauren asked. "Start from the beginning."

Jayden nodded. "Before I left, I remembered a time I went fishing with Antonio. He took me to a stream that's hidden far from the trail. I was there and found his fishing gear and his morpher. I found a small trail of blood and followed it. It wasn't easy, though. Eventually I came to a ditch. I found more blood I there, but it looked fresher. I knew then that I was getting closer. I had to guess what direction it went and decided on just going straight.

"After I walked for about ten minutes or so I could see a fire in a clearing ahead. I guessed this was here he was. I went around the clearing and climbed up a tree to get a vantage point. That's when I saw Antonio. He was gagged and tied to a tree on the other side, and being guarded by moogers. I morphed and attacked the moogers. They batted me while a few of them untied Antonio and dragged him away.

"I destroyed the ones I was fighting and followed them. I yelled out to him. Then I heard him yelling back. It was weak, but I heard it. I followed it and found that the moogers were about to behead him. I defeated them easily and went to help him. He was scared of me at first, but I managed to untie him and take the gag out. I knew they'd hurt him just by looking at him. He was a little out of it at first, but he was worried about you guys." Jayden smiled. "After all he'd gone though, he was still worried about others.

"I knew we had to get going. I wanted to get him somewhere safe before more nighlocks showed up. I helped him walk, but I didn't know where we were in the woods, so I picked a direction. After a while I noticed it looked like it was going to rain. I decided we should find some shelter to stay dry. I hid him under some bushes and scouted out a cave. Then I went back and found him, and we went to the cave.

"We stayed there that night and we drank some rainwater that pooled just outside the mouth of the cave." He decided to leave out the part where they'd cuddled together. "The next morning I woke up and he was gone. I panicked, thinking that the nighlocks had taken him again. I ran thorough the forest shouting his name. I heard him shout and the sound of him morphing.

"I followed the sound, morphing as I did. I found him on a cliff, being attacked by Bugzoid. I attacked the nighlock, trying to defend Antonio. Me and Antonio battled it out with him for while. Eventually Antonio told me we had to destroy the talisman around the monster's neck. Antonio cut it off, and I caught it and thew it too him. He destroyed it and.." Jayden struggle to find the words. "A sort of mist...engulfed him. I think it undid the spell because the next minute he ran at Bugzoid and disappeared from view. I hadn't re-morphed because of my arm, but it didn't matter.

"Antonio attacked Bugzoid with such vicious force it was almost scary. Bugzoid must've known Antonio would be able to beat him. He ran at me and grabbed me. Next thing I know I'm hanging over the edge of the cliff. Bugzoid told Antonio to surrender, or he would let go. I tied to get away, but I couldn't. Antonio must've known as well as I did that Bugzoid would kill us all whether I was dropped or not.

"Antonio ran at Bugzoid. He knocked him off the cliff and caught me, then pulled me back up to safety." He decided to also leave out the part where they hugged. "Bugzoid came back and Antonio said he would handle it. I believed him. I knew he was the only one fast enough to defeat the monster. Antonio summoned the clawzord and defeated Bugzoid once and for all.

"After the battle he fainted and I managed to stop him from hitting the ground. I picked him up and put him on my back and we came back here."

There was a moment of silence as they processed his story. "They...they gagged him?" Mike asked, knuckles turning white from clutching his knees.

Jayden nodded. Lauren sighed. "It doesn't matter now. Antonio is safe and Bugzoid is gone forever. We'll have to go to this clearing and check it for barriers."

The others nodded in agreement. Ji came out of the infirmary room with a strange look on his face. "Jayden..." he said slowly. "There is a long gash down Antonio's back. It must've been made by a sword. Bugzoid isn't a nighlock who fights with a sword. So..."

It took the others seconds to realize what Ji meant. "Oh. My. God," Emily said.

"You didn't..." Mike said.

Jayden sighed. "I did."

"Jayden!" Kevin exclaimed jumping up.

"It was an accident!"

"Where have we heard that before?!"

"That's enough Kevin," Ji said. The blue ranger sat down. "How did it happen?"

Jayden sighed. "Bugzoid had Antonio by the neck. He was holding him off the ground. I wanted to help and attacked him. He used Antonio as a shield and I got him with my spin sword."

No one said anything for a minute. Jayden was sure whatever little redemption he'd gained from them by rescuing Antonio, was gone. Ji sighed. "It wasn't your fault."

Jayden looked at him shocked. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," Ji said. "But, next time think about the fact he had Antonio and Antonio got hurt."

"Yes Mentor," Jayden said.

"Your turn now." Ji checked Jayden's arm, the red ranger was relieved to find it wasn't broken. He ate dinner with the other rangers, observing them as he did. Everyone was quiet, and Jayden wondered if they were mad at him.

Later that night Ji told Jayden to sleep in the infirmary. "Are you sure?" Lauren asked. "If Antonio wakes up, he might flip out."

"I want him where I can keep an eye on them both. He'll only be in there for the night." The rangers knew arguing would be useless, so Jayden laid down on a bed next to Antonio's. Ji gave him something to help him sleep. "Kevin," he said to the blue ranger who as watching Jayden like a hawk. "Before you go to bed please check on Antonio. If he wakes up and can't go to sleep, have him drink this." He put a cup on the bedside tale next to Antonio.

"I will," Kevin said.

"Good," Ji said. "Now go. Jayden needs to sleep."

Kevin left with Ji. Jayden was starting to feel drowsy. He watched Antonio until his eyes closed he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Now Jayden sat outside wondering if Antonio was awake. _It can't hurt to check on him, _Jayden decided. He got up and went in. He walked to the infirmary room and looked in. Ji was checking over Antonio. The blinds were closed, so the room was a little dark. _I'll come back later,_ Jayden decided turning away.


	24. Remembering?

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty-Four: Remembering?

A/N: whoop! Hello again. So, I was thinking of doing a story where Antonio meets some of his old tormentors. I would really appreciate it if you guys could tell me what you think of the idea. Thanks. Please read and review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio woke up from his nap, and looked around. The infirmary room was still dark with out the sunlight, but he liked it. He heard voices in the hall. He sat up and listened.

"...too weak," Lauren was saying.

"We have to know," Kevin said.

"I know."

"We can't wait Lauren."

"But..."

"Lauren if they hurt him we can help, but only if he tells us."

The door opened and the blue and red rangers came into the room. "Hey Tonio," Lauren said. She gave him a kiss on the head. "How do you feel?"

"What were you talking about?" he asked ignoring the superfluously asked question.

Lauren looked at Kevin and sat in the bed. "Antonio," she said. "I know you said, you can't remember anything, but we want you to tell us what happened."

"But Jayden already told you what happened," he said stating the obvious.

"We know," Kevin replied sitting in the other side of Antonio's feet. "But we want you to tell us."

"You don't trust Jayden's account?"

"No," Lauren said carefully. "It's not that we think he lied, but we'd like for you to tell us."

Antonio bit his lip. "I don't think..."

"Just try," Kevin said. "Please."

Antonio closed his eyes and tired to think back to when he was captured. He rubbed his wrists as the tight feeling of ropes squeezing them emerged. He shivered against the cold, and swallowed against the thirst. His throat burned from a lack of water. It was worse than the pains in his stomach from hunger.

"Antonio..." Lauren asked, getting concerned when he didn't stay anything.

Antonio couldn't hear her though. He was in the clearing, grunting in pain as Bugzoid kicked him in the ribs. Trying not to give the nighlocks satisfaction and cry out as his pulsing head was slammed into a tree.

"Antonio..." Keivn said when the gold ranger started shaking.

Antonio couldn't hear him over his own screams as Octoroo electrocuted him, sending waves of unbelievable pain through his body. Again; and again; and again.

"Antonio!" Lauren said grabbing his shoulder.

His eyes snapped open and he looked around. He took a shaky breath. _I'm in the Shiba House,_ he thought._ I'm safe. I'm safe now._

"What do you remember?" Kevin asked.

Antonio swallowed. "Nothing," he lied shakily. "I...I can't remember anything."

"Nothing?" Lauren asked. "Not how you got hurt, or being rescued, or the battle."

He shook his head. "No. It's all too foggy. Sorry."

Lauren sighed and looked at Kevin who shrugged. _What're you gonna do?_ "Alright," Lauren said getting up. "Sorry to disturb you. Just rest for now."

"Ok," Antonio said. He watched them leave, feeling a little guilty. He hadn't wanted to lie to them, but telling them would've been too painful. _Besides,_ a voice in his heads argued. _You decided a long time ago not to re-explore the painful past. Let it go. Move on._

"It's not that easy," Antonio muttered. "It never is. Forgetting is impossible, but so is remembering."

"Did he tell you?" Mike asked.

"Nope," Kevin replied shaking his head.

"Maybe he really doesn't remember," Mia said.

"Oh he remembered," Lauren replied. "You could tell."

Kevin nodded as they sat down. "He got all shaky and pale. He definitely remembers something, and it isn't good."

"What do you think it is?" Emily asked.

"I think the nighlocks took out a little frustration on him," Kevin said, expressing his thoughts in the most eloquent way possible.

"He can't keep something like that bottled up," Mia said. "It's gonna eat him from the inside out."

"She's right," Mike said.

Kevin nodded. "I know, but...he isn't going say anything. I think talking about painful memories might be a little too painful for him."

"That explains why he doesn't talk about his own past," Mike said. "I don't know if you guys noticed it, but for such an open person, he's not very forthcoming about it."

"I've noticed," Kevin said, rolling his eyes, and thinking back to his conversation with Jayden. That distant conversation in the woods felt like it was ages ago.

Emily and Mia nodded in agreement. "He's never going to tell us, is he?" Emily asked.

Lauren shook her head. "Probably not."

"He shouldn't keep thing like this to himself," Mia said. "It isn't healthy."

"We all deal with the past in different ways. This must be his way of doing it," Kevin said.

"I just wish he would realize we're here for him," Lauren said.

"He knows," Kevin said. "We just have to stop pushing. Give him some time. He'll start talking when he's ready."


	25. Apology

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty-Five: Apology

A/N: hey guys! So I think quite a few of you have been waiting twenty something chapters for this part. Well here it is. Please, please, please review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

Antonio was sitting in his bed in the infirmary room staring at a wall. He heard someone knock at the door, which confused him a little. Lauren had told him they were going to the clearing he'd been held in to look for barriers. To which Antonio had begged her to be careful. "Come in," he said looking at the door.

"Hey," Jayden said. "I...I wanted to talk to you. I know how you feel about being alone with me, but...this might be better if we did it alone."

Antonio nodded, feeling a little better remembering Ji was a shout away.

Jayden shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Uh...How are you?"

"Fine," Antonio said for the tenth time that day. "How's you arm?"

"Its good. Doesn't hurt a lot so..."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Look, Antonio, I'm gonna talk and I would really appreciate it if you would just let me get through it."

Antonio nodded. "What's up?"

Jayden swallowed nervously and walked over to the bed, and dropped to his knees by Antonio's side. "Antonio," he said, looking at the ground. "I'm, so, so, so, so, so, so unbelievably sorry for hitting you. I have regretted it since the moment I did it. I'm begging you to forgive me. I know I don't deserve it though. I don't deserve for you to be my friend again and you are completely justified if you never want to be my friend again.

"I'm begging for your forgiveness, but I can never forgive myself for this. You're my best friend, and I of all people should never betray you like this. You give me nothing but loyalty and kindness. I want you to understand that you did nothing to deserve this. It was completely my fault.

"I know your scared of me, but I hope you can overcome it and get used to being near me, even... Even if we aren't best friends any more. I understand if you're mad at me for what happened, and you have every right to be. I also know I will never be able to make this up to you. I'm really sorry, Antonio."

The gold ranger was so taken aback he didn't say anything for a minute. "Jayden..." He said. The red ranger looked up. "I...I...I can't forgive you. Not...not yet."

Jayden nodded, crestfallen, but knowing it was well deserved. "I understand," he said truthfully.

"Its just..."

"You don't have to explain yourself."

"But I do. You deserve an explanation..."

"Antonio after the pain I caused you I deserve to be thrown down a well."

"No I just... There are some things I need to sort out first. Things I need to..." He really wasn't' sure how to put it.

"Its ok," Jayden said. "You never have to forgive me. Just know I'm sorry, and I will never forgive myself."

Antonio nodded, suddenly to tired to talk. Sensing the gold ranger would say no more Jayden got up and left the infirmary room. Antonio sat there, thinking.

"He really is sorry," Ji said from the doorway.

"I know he is," Antonio said.

"You know how he is," Ji continued walking in. "This kind of thing eats him alive. He's to hard on himself sometimes."

"Think he's too hard on himself this time?"

"Hard to say," Ji said. "It was an accident, and yet Jayden is always good at controlling his emotions."

Antonio nodded. "I know."

Ji smiled. "No one knows Jayden quite like you."

"Yeah," Antonio said. "I want to forgive him, but...there's something I have to come to grips with first."

Ji nodded. "No one will rush you. Just know if you need help sorting this stuff out you have quite a few people who can help you."

"I know," Antonio said. Ji nodded and turned to leave. "Ji," Antonio said. He turned and looked at the gold ranger. "Thanks. For being there I mean. I've delt with a lot of adults who haven't cared as much as you do. So thanks. "

"That's my job," Ji said. "And anytime."

Antonio smiled. He'd never felt more welcomed, loved, or respected than when he was in the Shiba House. He sighed and threw his blankets aside. He had something to do. Something he had been putting off for a while. He walked slowly to his room and went under his bed. He pulled out a carved wooden box, a foot long, six inches wide, and three inches high. He opened it and pulled out a journal about the size of a diary with a shiny gold cover. He put the box back in its hiding place and returned to the infirmary room. He sat on the bed like he'd been there the entire time.

He stared at the journal, knowing full well it's contents, but not wanting to see them. He opened to the first page.

**I, Antonio Garcia, am a freak. My clothes don't fit, I'm dirty and I smell like fish. No one likes me and I have no friends. I never will because I am a round peg in a square hole. I don't fit in, and I never will. **

**I, Antonio Garcia, am a freak. My clothes don't fit, I'm dirty and I smell like fish. No one likes me and I have no friends. I never will because I am a round peg in a square hole. I don't fit in, and I never will. **

******I, Antonio Garcia, am a freak. My clothes don't fit, I'm dirty and I smell like fish. No one likes me and I have no friends. I never will because I am a round peg in a square hole. I don't fit in, and I never will. **

**I, Antonio Garcia, am a freak. My clothes don't fit, I'm dirty and I smell like fish. No one likes me and I have no friends. I never will because I am a round peg in a square hole. I don't fit in, and I never will. **

******I, Antonio Garcia, am a freak. My clothes don't fit, I'm dirty and I smell like fish. No one likes me and I have no friends. I never will because I am a round peg in a square hole. I don't fit in, and I never will. **

The book was filled with these sentences. Written when he was young and alone. _I'__m not the same person I was. I'm not alone anymore. I have friends, and I would do anything for them, as they would for me. _"I'm not weak," he said. "I'm not weak." He repeated it many times, but he knew it was a lie. To prove it once and for all, he had to do the hardest thing of all. Confront his past. He had to go back to the years of pain and isolation. Only then would he be strong.

He sighed. He'd spent years running from his past for a reason. "Be brave he told himself. Be brave."


	26. Forgiveness

Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly

_*Italic indicates thought_

Chapter Twenty-Six: Forgiveness

A/N: so, this is the last chapter. I know it's so sad. :( I want to thank everyone who supported this story, and to those who reviewed every time. Thank you so much for reading. But fear not, I have a very active imagination. To anyone who reads this sort after its finished, please review and let me know what you thought. Please read and review!

"Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone into a sea, but do you have an idea how deep that stone will go?" -Unknown

A few days later Antonio stood in the doorway of the Shiba House. He had been on the mend the last few days and could walk around without getting tired or a headache. He watched Jayden walk around the yard. "Jayden," he said.

The red ranger looked at him. They hadn't talked since his apology. "What's up?"

"I..I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"My past."

"Your past?"

"Yes." He walked out into the yard. "I...I'll talk, but can you...um..."

"You talk. I'll listen."

"Ok," Antonio said. He looked down and kicked at a stray rock. "I didn't have any friends growing up. I moved around a lot, so it was hard to make friends. I smelled like fish and people tended to avoid me. But, not all of them. The kids who didn't avoid me...they didn't like me. They'd take any chance they could to prove I was weak. It didn't really matter what school it was, I somehow always found these bullies.

"They would find me when I was alone and beat me up. Sometimes it was one person. Sometimes it was a group of people. They were always bigger than me and I really didn't have a chance to fight back. I remember how afraid I was to go to school everyday because I didn't want to have my ass kicked. Eventually I stopped fighting back, because it seemed very time I did a teacher would see me hit them and I would get in trouble." He laughed bitterly. "But it wasn't as bad as those teachers who would see me getting hurt and do nothing to stop it."

"When you apologised, I said I couldn't forgive you. It wasn't because I was mad. I was never mad at you Jayden. I couldn't forgive you, because I had to forgive myself. I've spent years trying to forget my past. I had to forgive myself for not being strong enough to face my past." He looked at Jayden. "When you hit me it reminded me of when I used to get beat up. And all those feelings, being trapped, helpless, and weak just kind of...emerged." He saw the guilt fill Jayden's eyes.

"I began thinking of you like I thought of those bullies. And for that I'm sorry. It wasn't fair to place you in the same category as them, anymore than it is for me to never forget what they did. In a way, you did me a favor. I've faced my past and made peace with it. I'm not weak and I'm certainly not that little kid I was in school. As to you making it up to me, you saved my life. I think that makes us pretty even." He took a deep breath. "As to, everything else. I forgive you. You apology is accepted. On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You forgive yourself."

"Antonio. What I did..."

"Was an accident. And helped me in the long run. Please Jayden."

Jayden sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll forgive myself."

Antonio smiled. "See how easy that was. I also want you to know that I trust you like I did before, and I'll talk to Ji about giving you back your samuraizer."

Jayden smiled and pulled it out of his pocket. "Ji decided after my apology that I knew what I did was wrong and what it means to be a samurai."

"I'm glad," Antonio said. "Hopefully once the others have seen that things are fine between us they'll forgive you too."

Jayden smiled. "I think they already do. Let's just say ever since I rescued you and apologised things have been better."

"Guess everything can go back to normal now," Antonio said.

"Not quite."

"Huh?"

"Antonio. What you told me about your past, I know that can't have been easy for you. But If at any time you need someone to talk to, or just listen, come to me. I know your pretty private about that, and you're entitled to your privacy. And, whatever other people have done to you, it won't make me think any less of you."

"Thanks, amigo," Antonio said, knowing Jayden meant his words.

"And, I just... I have to ask cause it's bugging me. Feel free to not answer me though, if it's prying to much."

"What is it?"

"You told me about how you were being hurt and no one helped you... it's just... What about you dad?"

Antonio stiffened. "What about him?"

"Couldn't you have told him what was going on? I'm sure being your dad and all he would help you."

Antonio shook his head and laughed bitterly. "I wish. My dad was barely sober enough to remember who I was before he-" He stopped himself just in time. He had been willing to share this much with Jayden, but this sore topic was another level of pain entirely.

"You don't have to answer," Jayden said seeing the look on Antonio's face. "Just forget it."

"Thanks" Antonio said gratefully. "And thanks for understanding."

"That's what friends are for," Jayden said.

"I know," Antonio tried. Then, without thinking, he hugged Jayden. The red ranger smiled and hugged him back.

Lauren and Kevin watched the proceedings from the doorway, completely unnoticed. Lauren smiled. "Those two are simply amazing."

"Amazing indeed," Kevin replied.

"Come on," Lauren said. "Let's leave them alone."

Jayden and Antonio hugged, not feeling ashamed at all. It didn't matter that there was still some things Antonio had to overcome. It didn't matter that he still had parts of his past to face. Because all that mattered was he had a friend who loved him. He had a best friend who was there for him and would be there for him as he began to confront the spirits of his pain. All that mattered was he had his best friend back.

And that was all he needed.


End file.
